Document refers to Weakland’s secret church archive with abuse files in Milwaukee

Records involving at least one sex-offender priest were maintained in so-called archives at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, according to a document released Wednesday as part of a pending lawsuit. That would call into question testimony by retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, who dismissed the notion as “antique” and “Old Testament” in a deposition last year. “I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never seen those files, and I don’t know if the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has such things,” Weakland said in response to a question about “sub secreto or confidential files.” That appears to contradict earlier testimony by Weakland in a 1993 deposition in which he acknowledged the existence of such files and newly released archdiocesan documents – including one addressed to Weakland – that reference the archives.