Article Title
Federal Government Tells Catholic Bishops Not to Destroy Sex Abuse Documents
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/us/catholic-bishops-sex-abuse.html
Source: New York Times
Author(s): Laurie Goodstein
Date: October 26, 2018
Synopsis of Article
The US Department of Justice has warned US Catholic bishops nationwide not to destroy records or files related to clergy sexual abuse of minors or the way such abuse was handled.
According to the article:
Catholic bishops have been asked by the federal government to retain their files on a broad array of internal matters, including sexual abuse investigations, and the transfer of priests across state or international borders, or to treatment centers. The request includes documents contained in “secret archives” — the confidential files that are kept by each diocese.
US Attorney William McSwain, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sent a letter, dated 9 October 2018, to the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Daniel DiNardo (a.k.a. Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Huston). The letter, seven pages long, provided specific instructions “not destroy, discard, dispose of, delete, or alter any of the described documents.” McSwain requested DiNardo to forward the letter to all Catholic dioceses in the US. The USCCB did so on 23 October 2018.
McSwain prefaced his letter by saying that his office was investigating possible violations of federal law.