Boston archdiocese to detail abuse claims

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston will turn over details of child abuse complaints against church officials to state authorities under an agreement announced Friday.

The information the church has agreed to hand over includes details of complaints filed against church officials and the names of victims. The archdiocese also has agreed to release "any and all victims from confidentiality agreements" signed as a result of civil lawsuit settlements, Attorney General Tom Reilly said.

"(The victims) are free, if they wish, to come forward and cooperate with law enforcement," Reilly said. The deadline for the church to hand over the material is March 18, Reilly said, "and we expect compliance."

The agreement follows the conviction last month of defrocked priest John Geoghan on charges of fondling a 10-year-old boy a decade ago. The investigation into the Geoghan case revealed that the priest had been moved to several parishes even though several allegations had been made against him.

Geoghan is serving a nine-to-10 year sentence for his recent conviction, and faces two more criminal trials and 80 civil lawsuits. The case highlighted what prosecutors see has a serious problem: In the past month, church leaders have turned over the names of 80 priests suspected of abuse, but no details accompanied the names.

Reilly and a team of prosecutors met with archdiocese officials Friday to hammer out the new agreement. Prosecutors said they have no need to look at victims' confidential medical or psychological records.

"The goal ... is to perform our responsibilities in a professional and a timely manner in the best interests of the victims and of the people caught in the middle of all this who want nothing more than to practice their religion in peace," he said.

The archdiocese also agreed to voluntarily report any allegations of abuse to the Department of Social Services if the victim is a minor or to law enforcement if the victim is an adult.

"Basically, the archdiocese has agreed to give us what we need to forward," Reilly said.