SEATTLE — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday that he is seeking a court order to force the Archdiocese of Seattle to turn over the records of priests accused of sexual abuse and to force its archbishop to answer questions under oath as part of a broad investigation into the handling of the state’s three Catholics. Dioceses have handled complaints of child sexual abuse.
Ferguson’s office is investigating “allegations that the Catholic Church facilitated and attempted to cover up decades of widespread child sexual abuse by church leaders in Washington state.” petition for a court order, indicates.
Because the Archdiocese of Seattle ‘refuses to cooperate’ with civil subpoenas issued by its office last summer And last monthFerguson made his investigation public Thursday by filing a legal petition in King County Superior Court seeking an order “to enforce the subpoena,” his office said in a statement.
If obtained, such a court order would legally compel Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne to appear for a deposition and force Washington’s largest Catholic diocese to produce a long list of internal documents, including its treasures of secret archive of clergy sexual abuse allegations dating back decades.
“Washingtonians deserve a public accounting of how the Catholic Church handles allegations of child sexual abuse and whether charitable donations were used to cover up these allegations,” Ferguson said during ‘a press conference. “As a Catholic, I am disappointed that the Church refuses to cooperate with our investigation.”
The archdiocese issued a statement On Thursday, he said he “has already provided some of the requested information.”
“We fully understand the contents of our files and have no concerns about sharing them with the Attorney General in a legal and fair manner,” the statement added.
Ferguson’s office said it was also prepared to seek a court order against Washington’s two other Catholic dioceses, in Yakima and Spokane, if one or both did not comply with their latest subpoenas. late this month.
With Thursday’s action, Ferguson became the 23rd attorney general to publicly announce an investigation into the Catholic Church in his state, his office said.
Long called for by sexual abuse survivors and advocacy groups, the Washington investigation is the first outside investigation into the Seattle Archdiocese’s handling of clergy abuse, survivors’ advocates say. The archdiocese publicly identified at least 79 clergy were “credibly accused” of sex offenders in 2016, based on its own private assessments. But for years he resisted calls from advocates and media demands to release his secret files on clergy abuse, or to allow independent investigators to inspect them.
Ferguson’s announcement also marked the first time he acknowledged the existence of his investigation, which was active since at least July.
In February, his office refused to confirm or deny the investigation after a group of anti-clergy activists held a news conference to claim he was hiding the investigation from the public.
The announcement by Ferguson, a Democrat running for governor, came two days after NBC News pressed his office to release copies of subpoenas requested by a reporter in March under Washington’s Public Records Act. Without confirming their existence, the general prosecutor’s office delayed its disclosure for over two months claiming he was still looking for records.
Ferguson’s subpoenas, first made public this week and shared with NBC News Wednesday evening, clarify the legal basis for the investigation. The first subpoena cites his office’s authority to “investigate transactions and relationships between trustees and other persons” under Washington’s Charitable Trust Act, which regulates certain tax-exempt corporations and entities that hold assets charitable trusts.
A civil subpoena has never been used in Washington to investigate a religious organization, according to a legal analysis provided to Ferguson’s office and obtained by NBC News.
Ferguson’s approach is similar to what New York Attorney General Leticia James used in 2020 to sue the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, based on the state’s civil laws regulating charities. James’ pursuit led to a historical settlement in 2022.
Ferguson’s first set of assignments to the Catholic dioceses of Washington each included a covering letter dated July 26, signed by him and sent separately to Etienne, Joseph Tyson, Bishop of Yakima and Rev. Victor Blazovitchthe financial vicar for the bishop of Spokane.
Ferguson’s letter asserts that although Washington’s Charitable Trust Act exempts religious organizations, “the exclusion does not apply in the context of child sexual abuse, a heinous violation unrelated to religion or status religious of an entity”.
The accompanying subpoenas list requests and instructions for each diocese to produce more than 20 categories of documents, including all reports of sexual abuse allegations made against priests and other clergy, employees and volunteers since January 1, 1940.
The requested documents include those containing allegations against priests and others whom dioceses have already publicly identified as “credibly accused” sex offenders, as well as those they have not identified. The subpoenas also demand that dioceses turn over communications with the Vatican regarding sexual abuse complaints, as well as documents showing the Church’s policies on compensating victims who have alleged sexual abuse and accounting of all these payments that have been made.
The three dioceses were initially given until Aug. 25, 2023, to comply with the initial subpoenas, records show.
“The dioceses only responded with information that was already public. They have not fully responded to the subpoena,” Ferguson’s office said in its statement.
Ferguson’s office also released copies of a second set of “amended subpoenas” that were issued last month to the three dioceses. Each includes requests to produce all previously identified documents, as well as five additional categories of documents primarily relating to finance and accounting.
The Archdiocese of Seattle had until May 10 to comply with Ferguson’s latest subpoena, but informed the office this week that it opposed the subpoena and would not comply, according to the attorney general’s office.
The deadline for the Yakima And Spokane Dioceses must comply with their latest subpoenas on May 22, records show.
Neither diocese immediately responded to NBC News’ requests for comment Thursday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
