No attorneys allowed at Cathedral High School meetings of students with Christian Brothers staff

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By Kay Ebeling

We have placed a call to Brother John Montgomery, the Principal, but so far he hasn't called back to explain Cathedral High School's policy of denying students a right to legal counsel when meeting with school officials. Yesterday, a City of Angels reader sent us the link to the Parent-Student Handbook because he found something "truly troubling" in the policy at the Christian Brothers run school for boys in Los Angeles.

"Since threatening or actually taking legal action against the school is indicative of an adversarial relationship," the Handbook says, "the Principal reserves the right to dismiss a student whose parent(s) or other party pursue such action on behalf of the student."

The reader emailed legitimate concerns: "So if a child is sexually abused by a faculty member at Cathedral High School and the parents hire an attorney, the student can be expelled simply because someone on his behalf hired an attorney? How does this protect children?"

Go here: Student Handbook and click on "Disciplinary Sanctions" and you will find, it says, "An attorney or legal counsel is not permitted to be present in any meeting" with an official from the school. In other words a student whose parents hire an attorney to deal with the school will be expelled. Here is the quote:

"Parent Cooperation and Legal Counsel

• To foster a spirit of trust and cooperation, an attorney or legal counsel is not permitted to be present in any meeting with the Dean of Students, Principal or any school official. In addition, any parent who violates the spirit of cooperation with the school, as determined by the Principal, is subject to having his/her son dismissed from the school.

• Since threatening or actually taking legal action against the school is indicative of an adversarial relationship, the Principal reserves the right to dismiss a student whose parent(s) or other party pursue such action on behalf of the student."

We are waiting now for a call back from the school to explain.

Looks to me like they want to intimidate students into not even considering legal action, no matter what they are subject to at the hands of the Christian Brothers-

The Church's continuing efforts to improve relations between the crime victims and its pedophile priests again proves to be more PR Pap than fact.

ke