Posted on Sun, Oct. 15, 2006

Mexico bans lawyer who sues church
St. Paul man can’t enter country for 5 years

Los Angeles Times

The government of Mexico has banned an American lawyer from entering their country after the lawyer sued the country’s Roman Catholic Archbishop, claiming he conspired to protect pedophile priests.

The five-year exclusion order was issued in Mexico City against Jeffrey Anderson, known for his many lawsuits against the Catholic Church on behalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Anderson, a St. Paul attorney, has represented more than 1,000 people over 24 years in sex abuse cases involving clergy members and has been a key figure in the U.S. legal battles on the issue.

In September, Anderson alleged that Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony and Norberto Rivera, the Archbishop of Mexico, conspired to protect a priest who had molested a Mexican youth.

Anderson had been detained briefly in his hotel in Mexico City, where he announced the lawsuit.

He later was escorted to an airport under the protection of the U.S. Embassy.

The entry ban issued Thursday applies to Anderson, a second lawyer and David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

The three allegedly violated the terms of their tourist visas Sept. 20 when they traveled to Mexico City to publicize their case against Rivera.

“I will not be silenced, I will not be intimidated and I will continue to speak out and do what needs to be done to protect those kids,” Anderson said Friday. “I don’t know anything about diplomacy. I know I was there lawfully to speak the truth.”

In a statement, Mexico’s national Immigration Institute said the three Americans had acted as legal advisers, when their tourist entry visas did not give them “the proper authorization to carry out professional or lucrative activities.”

The three appeared with Joaquin Aguilar Mendez, who claims he was abused as a teenager in 1994 by a Catholic priest, the Rev. Nicolas Aguilar. The allegations have been denied by Rivera’s office.

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