Hartford, Conn., Jul 17, 2009 / 15:53 pm
The Diocese of Bridgeport is involved in a protracted legal battle to keep the personnel files of some of its employees private and plans to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The diocese argues that granting the request of several major newspapers to unseal the files violates privacy rights and the First Amendment.
The lawsuit, Rosada v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., is being brought by several newspapers, including the New York Times. The publications are attempting to gain access to personnel files in order to determine how the recently retired Cardinal Edward Egan handled sexual abuse cases while he was the Bishop of Bridgeport.
The diocese maintains that access to the files should not be granted because doing so would reveal personal information that is not relevant to the sex abuse cases.
Additionally, diocesan officials point out that the files related to sex abuse allegations were available prior to a 2001 settlement on the more than 20 lawsuits. The files were sealed by the court following the settlement.