Cardinal denies failing to face priestly child abuse

CARDINAL Joseph Bernadin of Chicago, the archdiocese at the centre of an American child abuse scandal, this week vehemently denied charges that he has not cooperated with investigators looking into allegations of sex crimes made against priests.
The cardinal said he was "dumbfounded" by accusations made by lawyers in Cook County that the Chicago archdiocese had refused to co-operate with inquiries into child abuse cases.
"The state attorney's office maintains that the Church is legally and morally obliged to report sexual abuse allegations to the proper authorities before undertaking any independent investigation," said the Cook County state lawyer, Jack O'Malley. He said that the Church's policy of appointing a case manager to handle individual allegations of sexual misconduct could hinder the proper process of the law.
Cardinal Bernadin said the archdiocese was not obliged to hand over all its records concerning sex abuse allegations. Any attempt to force it to do so could result in a courtroom showdown, he said.
The approach of the archdiocese to the problem "attended to the needs of the victims" but some records concerning the mental health and pastoral relationships of priests were confidential and would not be made available.
Fourteen priests in Chicago have been removed from their parishes for alleged child abuse.