SAN DIEGO, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic diocese of San Diego has released documents on the sex abuse by priests of 144 victims.
The documents disclosed Sunday involved 48 priests, most of whom the diocese named in 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported. But few details had been given. All the priests have left the diocese and most are dead.
Although the diocese paid a $198 million settlement in 2007, its lawyers fought in court to limit disclosure of the personnel records, citing privacy laws.
Disclosure has been an issue in other dioceses that settled molestation claims. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which reached a $660 million settlement in 2007, has yet to release the records sought by victims' attorneys.
In San Diego, a retired Superior Court judge ordered Friday that thousands of pages of documents be made public. Most are routine records of correspondence and monthly reports.
But, court officials said, the pages that detail allegations follow a common pattern:
-- Victims and their families were ignored or called liars.
-- Diocesan officials transferred accused priests but never told the police.
-- The diocese found parishes for priests being transferred from elsewhere in the country to avoid charges.
