California subpoenas more records from 6 Catholic dioceses

LOS ANGELES — California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra subpoenaed additional records from six Catholic archdioceses–Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Orange and San Jose—as part of state requirement that priests, teachers and staff report suspected abuse to local law enforcement officials.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. CA.GOV

The dioceses since May have been cooperating fully with Becerra’s request that they voluntarily turn over documents in compliance with state requirements, providing tens of thousands of pages of information and files to the California Department of Justice, according to Angelus News.

In a statement, the Los Angeles Archdiocese said that it would “continue to cooperate with the Attorney General’s review,” and expressed confidence that the review will “confirm that the Archdiocese has actively worked for more than two decades to ensure that individuals who are mandated reporters fulfill their obligations under the law, and that our parishes and schools are safe places for all young people in our communities.”

Since 2004, the Archdiocese has trained more than 350,000 adults and more than 165,000 children in abuse-prevention awareness programs. In addition, more than 250,000 adults have been fingerprinted as part of the Archdiocese’s background checks for Church and school personnel and volunteers, according to Angelus News.

The Archdiocese in September joined five other California dioceses in a private compensation program that is available now to any person who has been sexually abused as a minor by diocesan priests, no matter when that abuse occurred.