Catholic church is stonewalling sex abuse investigation, Washington attorney general says

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s attorney general says the Seattle Archdiocese isn’t cooperating in a sex abuse investigation, but church officials disagree. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday asked a judge to force the church to turn over documents to his office in an investigation into whether the archdiocese unlawfully used charitable trust funds to cover up sexual abuse by priests. The archdiocese says it’s cooperating and welcomes the investigation. The Catholic attorney general told a news conference that the archdiocese has refused to provide documents that were not already public. He says the religious institution claimed it was exempt from having to provide them. The archdiocese disputed that as well.