Suits’ Dismissal Sought on Religious Grounds

The Boston Archdiocese asked a judge Monday to dismiss the hundreds of sexual-abuse lawsuits against the church on freedom-of-religion grounds. But the archdiocese said it is still committed to reaching a settlement.

The archdiocese said it made the dismissal request to satisfy its insurers that it has employed all possible legal defenses.

“Failure to do this could very well result in the insurance companies walking away from us, saying that we have not exercised all of our avenues of defense,” said Bishop Richard G. Lennon.

In court papers, the archdiocese argued that under the 1st Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion, civil law does not apply to how religious organizations supervise their personnel.

The argument was filed with Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney even as Lennon renewed his request that all legal maneuvering in the lawsuits be suspended so that settlement talks could be intensified.

Jeffrey A. Newman, whose firm represents about 200 alleged victims, believes the archdiocese remains sincere in its efforts to move toward settlement of the more than 400 lawsuits.

Archdiocesan spokeswoman Donna M. Morrissey said that the archdiocese “believed in the argument” it filed with the court, but that it is still committed to reaching a settlement.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s bishop has suggested under oath that it is less serious for a priest to have sex with someone from outside the parish than with a parishioner.

In depositions this fall, Bishop John B. McCormack said he knew that Father Roland Cote had had sex with a teenage boy, but he noted that the boy was not a parishioner.

“One is an activity where you have a trusted relationship with a parishioner. The other is an activity where you’re away from the parish and you’re off on your own,” McCormack said in depositions obtained by Associated Press. “I’m very concerned about that; he was a young person. But it’s quite different from being with a parishioner.”

McCormack spokesman Patrick McGee said Monday that a priest having sex with a parishioner involves exploitation.