Los Angeles, USA - Attorneys for the Roman Catholic Franciscan order are appealing a California court order that it release personnel files and other documents as part of a clergy sexual abuse settlement.
Lawyers for the Franciscan Friars of California Inc. filed the appeal Thursday, the same day the documents were supposed to have been released. The appeal put the release on hold.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter D. Lichtman ordered the files' release on April 2, nearly three years after the Franciscans reached a $28 million settlement with 25 people who claimed they were sexually abused.
Plaintiffs' attorney Tim Hale has said the documents could reveal details about how long ago the Franciscans knew about alleged abusers and how they dealt with them.