This is getting big play in the local media today:
A judge on Wednesday rejected a request by the Boston archdiocese to dismiss more than 400 clergy sex abuse lawsuits based on the church’s contention that the First Amendment bars courts from interfering with church operations and policies.
Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney’s ruling allows the lawsuits alleging the archdiocese ignored allegations of clergy abuse to go forward.
Church officials argued in court last month that the separation of church and state bars civil courts from getting involved in how church officials supervise priests.
I’m not as cynical about the Church’s motion as others are. Bishop Lennon sat down with reporters before the motion was filed in December and explained that the lawyers had to pursue all legal avenues open to them or insurance carriers could have grounds to not pay out on policies. Only the daftest person could believe that the court would agree with the motion. That says more about our legal system and its hostility toward common sense than it does about the Church.
