Survivors and advocates to support AG Ferguson’s petition for abuse-related documents in court today
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 12, 2024
CONTACT:
Tim Law
Catholic Accountability Project Founding Member
Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) Board Member
timalaw@aol.com
206-412-0165
Mary Dispenza
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) Northwest Director
Catholic Accountability Project Founding Member
425-941-6001
mcdispenza@comcast.net
When: Friday, July 12th, 1:30pm
Where: 516 3rd Ave, Courtroom W905 (Judge Scott) Seattle, WA
Who: Survivors of clergy sexual abuse, members of the Catholic Accountability Project (CAP), Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)
What: A motion hearing to determine whether Archbishop Etienne of Seattle will be compelled to comply with subpoenas from Attorney General Bob Ferguson seeking documents and evidence pertaining to sexual abuse and its institutional concealment
Why: On July 26th, 2023, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sent subpoenas to Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, and Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane for documents pertaining to clergy sexual abuse. The Catholic dioceses objected to the subpoenas and refused to share any documents that were not already publicly available.
After CAP publicly announced the subpoenas and urged AG Ferguson to officially launch his investigation and open a hotline on February 13th, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) sent amended subpoenas on April 10th, and the Catholic dioceses again refused to comply.
On May 9th, Attorney General Ferguson announced that he had officially opened an investigation into clergy sexual abuse, filing a petition in the King County Superior Court to compel the Archdiocese of Seattle to comply with his subpoenas.
Clergy abuse survivor Mary Dispenza speaks at a July 11th press conference outside St. James Cathedral in Seattle
Yesterday, survivors and advocates of CAP delivered around 7,500 pages of documents and evidence pertaining to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church to Attorney General Ferguson’s office in Seattle. The group marched to the attorney general’s office from St. James Cathedral where they had announced the filing of a formal complaint against Archbishop Etienne with the Vatican for his refusal to comply with Ferguson’s subpoenas.
On Friday July 12th at 1:30pm, the AGO and Archdiocese will appear in King County Superior Court for a motion hearing regarding the attorney general’s petition.
Survivors will be in attendance at the hearing to show support for the attorney general’s office in obtaining sex abuse documents from the archdiocese.
Seattle-based clergy abuse survivor Mary Dispenza said of the abuse-related documents being held by the archdiocese, “They are our stories. They need to be freed and released. And the archbishop has the power to do that. He’s the one who has the key to the locked vault.”
CAP is urging victims, concerned Catholics, and whistleblowers to report their abuse, and share their experiences and concerns, as well as any other relevant documents and evidence by calling the Attorney General’s clergy abuse hotline at 833-952-6277.
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The Catholic Accountability Project (CAP) is dedicated to advocating for justice for victims of clergy sexual abuse and holding perpetrators and those who enabled them responsible for their actions. We relentlessly pursue the vision of a church free from abuse through proactive intervention by justice officials, an unequivocal end to secrecy, and an unwavering commitment to full accountability for the harm caused.