Lawyers want more info on abuse charges

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MILWAUKEE, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Lawyers for plaintiffs suing the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for sexual abuse have asked a bankruptcy judge to unseal hundreds of claims filed against the church.

In a motion filed late Monday, Jeffrey Anderson said that identifying information about victims and alleged abusers should be removed, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Anderson also called on the Catholic Church to release its own documents and said information should be given to the state attorney general.

Facing a flood of litigation, the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in January 2011.

The archdiocese also has asked for some claims to be unsealed. Church officials argue they will show no evidence of a cover-up.

Anderson, other plaintiffs lawyers and the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests suggest that releasing more information might reveal evidence of a cover-up by Catholic officials or of possible abusers whose identities have been concealed. The church says the names of all living priests accused of abuse have been given to prosecutors.