As bishops gather, prosecutors step up scrutiny of church
Hundreds of boxes. Millions of records. From Michigan to New Mexico, attorneys general are sifting through files on clergy sex abuse this month, seized through search warrants and subpoenas at dozens of archdioceses.
They're looking to prosecute, and not just priests. If the boxes lining the hallways of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's offices contain enough evidence, she said, she is considering using state racketeering laws usually reserved for organized crime. Prosecutors in Michigan are even volunteering on weekends to get through all the material.
For decades, leaders of the Roman Catholic Church were largely left to police their own. But this week, as American bishops gather for a conference in Baltimore to confront the reignited sex-abuse crisis, they're facing the most scrutiny ever from secular law enforcement.
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