Roman Catholic Church uses High Powered Lawyers to Harrass accusers
.A report says the Roman Catholic Church has changed its legal strategy. Instead of quietly settling sex-abuse cases, the church is hiring high-powered law firms and private detectives to examine the personal lives of the church’s accusers. The Washington Post says the Roman Catholic Church has responded to its rampant sex abuse scandal “with a muscular display of legal power.” Church lawyers in Illinois recently grilled a victim about the details of his alleged abuse by a priest and asked whether he enjoyed it. The Post says church officials are continuing their fight to keep incriminatory documents secret -- often quoting canon law to justify purging archives relating to criminal behavior. In addition, the newspaper says church attorneys are arguing that investigating those who allege sexual abuse is simply good, routine lawyering. Recently in Boston, archdiocese lawyers countered-sued a six-year-old boy and his parents, accusing them of negligence for trusting the priest who repeatedly molested him. -Agape Press Friday, May 17, 2002