By Mark R. Chellgren
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - A newspaper that publishes material sealed by a court cannot be cited for contempt if the source of the information was not the sealed record itself, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The ruling turned down a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, which had asked for the contempt citation against the Courier-Journal of Louisville.

The publication on Aug. 24 concerned materials contained in a lawsuit by parishioners that alleged they had been abused by Catholic priests and that the diocese had not done enough to prevent the abuse.

Eight days earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered that the materials remain sealed as a lawsuit worked its way through the courts about whether the Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader should have access to those court records.

While the newspaper did not disclose the source of the information its reporter used, its lawyer said that neither he nor the newspaper had received copies of the sealed material.

In an opinion signed by Chief Justice Joseph Lambert, the court said the order did not preclude any publication of the material. If that had been the case, it would have been an instance of prior restraint, which would have raised First Amendment issues about censorship.

Instead, the order prohibited the newspaper from publishing material that had been obtained directly from the court documents, Justice Lambert said.

The diocese did not allege the material for the newspaper report came directly from court records and the newspaper therefore did not violate the order.

Justices Donald Wintersheimer and William Graves, who were the most persistent and pointed questioners of the newspaper's lawyer during oral arguments, dissented.