Prosecutors and Catholic church officials traded accusations of misconduct and cover-ups Thursday as they battled over an investigation into sexual abuse by Cincinnati priests.

The Rev. Christopher Armstrong, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, walks to the grand jury appearence with lawyers (from left) Tom Miller, Mark VanderLaan and an unidentified man. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        The fight went public when prosecutors took the extraordinary step of calling Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk to testify before a grand jury.

        Although the archbishop was later excused from testifying, the message was clear:

        Both sides have abandoned the “spirit of cooperation” they had touted just two weeks ago.

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has refused to turn over crucial documents, choosing instead to play a game of “hide-the-evidence.”

        “We were promised cooperation,” Mr. Allen said. “What we got was the back of their hand.”

        Lawyers for the archdiocese said Mr. Allen's comments were inappropriate and inaccurate.

        “The idea that we are not cooperating is what we find to be very unjust,” said Mark VanderLaan, an attorney for the church. “We are following as best we can the letter of the law.”

        Neither side would reveal details about the documents in question or why they are important to the investigation, citing the secrecy of the grand jury process.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen

        The grand jury investigation began when Archbishop Pilarczyk disclosed that “fewer than five” priests employed by the archdiocese have been accused of sexual misconduct.

        He said the allegations had been substantiated, but he refused to name the priests. He said they are under close supervision and no longer have contact with children.

        Mr. Allen criticized the church for failing to promptly report the allegations to authorities.

        But he softened his stance two weeks ago when church officials agreed to provide records about the priests and to cooperate with the grand jury investigation.

        Mr. Allen said the cooperation did not last long.

        He said records provided by the church were missing important information. And when asked about it, he said, church lawyers refused to hand over more documents.

        “Items that probably should have been there were not there,” Mr. Allen said. “This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-the-evidence game.”

        To get some of the information, the grand jury issued subpoenas Thursday for the archbishop and for Chancellor Christopher Armstrong. Neither is accused of abuse, but prosecutors apparently wanted them to discuss the church's handling of abuse allegations.

        The subpoena of the archbishop is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

        Father Armstrong testified for about an hour, but Archbishop Pilarczyk was excused from testifying after he provided information sought by the grand jury.

        Mr. Allen hinted that more subpoenas may be forthcoming if the church resists future requests.

        “We can do this the hard way or the easy way,” Mr. Allen said.

        Church officials said Ohio law and church law do not allow them to provide everything the prosecutor wants.

        They said some information cannot be shared because it is drawn from the confidential relationship between attorneys and clients, or priests and penitents.

        “We are complying (with the prosecutor's request), but we also have to comply with the rules,” said Tom Miller, a lawyer for the archdiocese.

        Church officials have said several victims asked them not to report the abuse to authorities. But Mr. Allen said he doubts the church is motivated by concern for the victims.

        “That's hogwash. That's absolute hogwash,” Mr. Allen said. “They are under a legal obligation to report allegations of sexual abuse.

        “I want to get to the bottom of this.”

        He said church officials in other cities have been far more cooperative than the archdiocese in their response to abuse allegations.

        Mr. Allen held up Cleveland as a model of how the archdiocese could better cooperate with law enforcement. He noted that the church there has formed an independent, 21-member commission to study policies on sex abuse.

        “That's the way you deal with this,” Mr. Allen said. “Not with an army of Fourth Street lawyers.”

        Mr. VanderLaan said the archdiocese formed a committee nearly 10 years ago to help draft the church's Decree on Child Protection. He said the decree mandates reporting of abuse that was years ahead of its time.

        “We represent a very fine institution,” Mr. Miller said. “We are concerned about the parishioners, and we are concerned about the general public.”

        He said the church also is concerned about Mr. Allen's comments, suggesting they may violate the rules that cover secret grand jury proceedings.

        Mr. Miller said church officials may ask a judge to “intervene,” although he did not say exactly what they would ask the judge to do.

        Mr. Allen said he has revealed nothing about the grand jury proceedings and is well within his rights to criticize the archdiocese.

        “I will not be silenced,” he said.

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