Los Angeles Times
The Boston Archdiocese was ordered Monday to hand over the psychiatric and medical records of the Rev. Paul Shanley, the retired priest accused of child rape.
Middlesex Superior Court Justice Janet Sanders ruled that by turning his records over to the archdiocese, Shanley had waived the right to keep them private. A hearing today will determine if the documents will be made public.
On the same day, Boston’s Cardinal Bernard Law heatedly denied that he had been negligent in failing to keep the Rev. John Geoghan — another priest accused of sexual abuse — away from children.
Law’s testimony was taken at the chancery of Boston’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese.
The now-defrocked Geoghan, 66, is serving a nine- to 10-year sentence for fondling a boy at a community swimming pool. His trial and conviction in January ignited a sweeping scandal over clerical sexual abuse that has included shocking disclosures about Shanley, a 71-year-old retired priest who was arrested this month in California. Shanley has pleaded not guilty to three counts of child rape.
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