The Catholic Diocese of Oakland is trying to keep the names of priests who abused children a secret. They filed that motion in a federal bankruptcy court as the diocese faces hundreds of new lawsuits. A state law gave survivors of sexual abuse by clergy until this past Dec. 31 to file lawsuits, no matter how long ago it happened. So many new claims came in, it drove the diocese to bankruptcy.
The attorney for the Catholic Diocese of Oakland first raised the issue at a hearing earlier this month, Ann Marie Uetz telling the federal bankruptcy court, “The notice and confidentiality has to do with what names will be made public.”
Then, she filed a motion to keep the names and contact information of priests and other diocese staff who may have committed child sexual abuse confidential, “to avoid the risk of identity theft and harassment.”
Continue reading at ABC News