Was a dramatic police raid in the Diocese of Dallas really necessary?

Earlier this month dozens of polices officers, some dressed in SWAT gear, descended on the office of the Diocese of Dallas. The police were seeking records that they claim were withheld by the diocese, making the raid necessary.

But Dallas Bishop Edward Burns has criticised the raid as an unnecessary show of force. He said in a statement that a subpoena would have sufficed.

“In reality, the diocese cannot turn over what it does not have,” he said. “All of the files for the names in the affidavit have been turned over, and the diocese was working directly with police on this, spending hours combing through thousands of files, some of which were decades old.”