Free Republic

Los Angeles (AP) -- The head of the Los Angeles Roman Catholic archdiocese asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let the church keep priest personnel records out of the hands of investigators in a sex abuse probe. Attorneys for Cardinal Roger M. Mahony filed the petition on Thursday, arguing that giving prosecutors private records on two priests would violate the constitutional separation of church and state. The petition follows a decision by the California Supreme Court last year that the archdiocese must produce the files, which were subpoenaed three years ago. "What is most important from the perspective of Cardinal...