Bankrupties Allow Catholic Church to Hide Criminal Activity re Pedophile-Pederast Priests and its Aiding and Abetting

Evidence of criminal aiding and abbeting in the handling of prolific pederast priest Edward Anthony Rodrigue could be buried by the bankruptcy of the San Diego archdiocese.

The Hearing on the calendar 3.13.07 would have been Motion to Compel Deposition forcing "the Catholic Bishop of San Diego to produce the persons most qualified at depositions” and “said person be required to submit to deposition matters specified in plaintiff’s deposition notice.”

Instead last week's bankruptcy put an automatic stay on all civil case hearings.

Bankruptcy lets the archdiocese ignore orders from civil courts to produce documents and witnesses. Those witnesses, many of whom are eager to testify, would expose criminal activity in the rectories and resorts of the church nationwide, evidence that could lead to RICO, organized crime, national hearings and investigations of the church.


So on March 13 no one showed up in civil court for the hearing in case GIC823004, a case filed by victims of Rodrigue that was set for trial June 1, 2007. Tuesday's hearing would have been one of many hearings where church attorneys would throw out more contradictory arguments. Churh attorney pleadings were starting to be more and more fatuous.


When the church cooperated enough to respond it was claiming attorney client privilege regarding its refusal to produce witnesses – and plaintiffs were pointing out that these were witnesses not clients.

I wonder if what the church is saying is anyone they produce as a witness is going to end up being the criminal attorneys’ clients.

The church was arguing “work product” privilege regarding sex charges against its priests and now that would have been an interesting hearing to attend.

OBVIOUSLY SAN DIEGO KNEW IN JANUARY THERE WOULD BE NO MORE CASES IN MARCH

Lawyers for Plaintiffs in case GIC832004 requested witnesses and documents several times in November and December. They pleaded to the court saying the defendant the church is trying to “assert a blanket privilege over the entire investigation of plaintiff’s claim”

“Despite two meet and confer letters defendant failed to offer any reason for its failure to appear nor a position on any of the compromises offered by plaintiff on January 10 2007” wrote Michael Kinslow of Zalkin & Zimmer, plaintiffs’ attorneys in San Diego.


I guess by January San Diego church attorneys already knew the bankruptcy would make all these pesky civil cases just go away.

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Some background on GIC823004,

There is already evidence of the church negligence in how it handled reports that Father Rodrigue was fondling little boys. In at least two documented incidents persons tried to call Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in El Centro to report Rodrigue’s preying.

In one case a female who answered the phone told the caller, “You should not speak that way about a priest” and hung up. The next week the head altar boy tried to report his own molestation and the man then answering the archdiocese phone demanded the caller’s name and then hung up when the Caller asked to be anonymous.


LIFE IN A SAN DIEGO RECTORY

Deoisutuib testimony in this case shines a light on life in the rectories around San Diego.

On one occasion a visiting priest knocked on Rodrigue’s door unexpectedly. Rodrigue scurried the little boy in his bed into the bathroom and answered the door only to find the visiting priest needed to use the bathroom. The visiting priest went inside and found the naked little boy hiding in Rodrigue’s bathtub.

The priest has admitted this about Rodrigue in sworn deposition testimony. In fact there is one anecdote after another. In one case, the plaintiff testifies that he himself went to Father Gill and told him Father Rodrigue was touching him wrong. Father Gill's eyes glazed, he did not respond, and instead "walked on up the hall."

There is a 642 page document filed by the church attorneys "lodgement of exhibits" on one of the 300 plus screens of documents in the Clergy Cases II JCCP4297 in Los Angeles Superior Court Room 106, or available at the court’s web site to view with a credit card. There is also a sworn deposition where the admitted pedophile is trying to talk about his activities and his own attorneys keep trying to stop him.


WHERE IS RODRIGUE TODAY?
OUT ON PAROLE ALREADY.

Here is his criminal resume:

Sentenced to probation in 1979 for abuse of 1 youth. Sentenced in 1998 to 10 yrs prison for abuse of youth in 1997. Released from prison Jan. 2006. 1st suit set for trial 6/07. Judge has ruled that Diocese of San Diego may be assessed punitive damages if found liable.
-- bishop accountability dot org