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CNN Live Today

Interview with Jeffrey Newman

Aired May 07, 2002 - 14:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In another high-profile case involving a Boston priest, a judge has ordered Cardinal Bernard Law to answer questions about his handling of the case of John Geoghan.

Law was to be deposed tomorrow in the civil suit against the defrocked priest who is accused of molesting dozens of children. Geoghan, currently serving a sentence of up to 10 years for fondling a boy.

Talk more about that case and the deposition now of Cardinal Bernard Law, attorney from Boston Jeffrey Newman is our guest, representing about 110 clients suing the Catholic Church.

Jeffrey, good afternoon to you.

JEFFREY NEWMAN, LAWYER: Good afternoon.

HEMMER: We heard earlier today that some believe that Cardinal Law may go to the Vatican, he may be essentially protected by the Vatican. Do you see that as a possibility?

NEWMAN: Well, I think it is a concern. Things are so destabilized here. The local church here, the archdiocese, is really in such a free fall, that Cardinal Law really appears to be a perennial witness.

His deposition is tomorrow. There's another one coming up June 5th. And I'm asking for his deposition next week.

I think that the concern in the Vatican must be heightened at this point, and the pope may well pull him back and say, look, you stay here, we're going to protect you.

HEMMER: You want to depose him next week, you say?

NEWMAN: We're asking for his deposition next week.

HEMMER: What questions do you want answered, Jeffrey?

NEWMAN: Well, we have to know what he knew about these priests, what his fellow bishops new, and why they didn't take more action sooner.

In addition, there are other peripheral questions which we have about Cardinal Law and his own background.

HEMMER: Some of those questions, I'd assume, will be answered tomorrow in this deposition. Do you know of a case where a cardinal has been deposed in this manner?

NEWMAN: Well, no cardinal has been deposed in a sexual abuse case. Cardinal Law himself has undergone depositions in the past, having to do with contract actions in St. Louis, but he's never been deposed.

No other cardinal has ever been deposed like this in a sexual abuse case, throughout the country.

HEMMER: Your clients are telling you what, then, Jeffrey, about this deposition that will go down tomorrow?

NEWMAN: Well, I think my clients are watching very carefully. They are relieved not only that the priests themselves who have committed these heinous acts are being convicted, but that the bishops that covered this up and played musical chairs are finally being brought to the bar of justice, because up to this point there's been very, very little recognition of their own wrongdoing.

And for my clients, this is a vindication in a way. They're relieved it's going on, but they also find this whole process to be so unsettling. They want to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and so far, that hasn't happened.

HEMMER: And back to the question about the Vatican. Do you believe legally the Vatican could protect the cardinal?

NEWMAN: Well, yes. The Vatican is its own country. It has a few treaties, but none with the United States relative to the taking of civil depositions. It has very extensive laws, which actually are more stringent than any country in the world in protecting people and documents from subpoenas.

It's very, very hard to get at people once they're at the Vatican.

HEMMER: You mentioned some of the questions you would ask Cardinal Law if indeed you get a chance to depose him. What is your strategy essentially, legally, in this case?

NEWMAN: Well, let me say first that this is not something that I sought vigorously. It's not something that I wanted to do. I think that the risk for the Catholic church, in terms of its own reputation and legacy right now is its highest.

If Cardinal Law should purger himself in any fashion on any central issue, the problems that would ensue locally here would cost the church so much time, so much money and so much reputation, it's just not worth it.

But to answer your question directly, we must -- and as a lawyer representing these individuals, I have to ask all the hard questions as to why Cardinal Law, when he had this written information about these men preying on the most vulnerable of our population, why he, a man of good conscience, good reputation, an astute human being, didn't come forward to just take these people out and stop what they were doing.

HEMMER: How is the community reacting out there? There is a strong Catholic community in Boston.

NEWMAN: They are very disturbed. The parishioners themselves in many of the parishes are refusing to give money to the Boston archdiocese. The diocese activities themselves are curtailed. They're having trouble raising funds just to do day to day activities, and it's escalating.

The whole community here is very...

HEMMER: Are you Catholic, Jeff?

NEWMAN: I am not Catholic. No. And let me just mention, too, it's an issue, when you're prosecuting one of these cases, not to attack the religion. I've tried not to do anything like that. I've tried to stay directly with the case.

But we have to ask difficult questions and we must depose these people, and most of the Catholic friends that I have understand that we're doing our job and that's it.

HEMMER: Jeffrey Newman, representing a number of clients there in Boston. Thank you, sir.

NEWMAN: Thank you.

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