I have had both good and bad experience with requesting information from priests at Catholic churches in PA. I was told by someone (and I will try to find the reference) that according to Church Law you cannot be denied access to direct ancestor records. But I do have a story to relate that may help someone. I called the church that had the records that my Polish great grandparents attended in PA (three churches were combined into one in the 1970's) as several letters with SASE were never returned. The priest told me I could not go thru the records as they were in Polish. I said "no problem". So he returned with I couldn't look thru them as they were in Latin. I said "no problem." (Must have been magic language changing ink!). So then he tells me the records were in such bad condition they would probably crumble in my hands. I told him I had handled old documents frequently and would look at them with him present and would not harm them in any way. THen he said the only reason I wanted to look thru them was to get gossip so I couldn't see them and hung up. Since I had looked thru ever available US record for where my great grandparents came from with no information that helped I really wanted to see these records. So I wrote the bishop and told him exactly what the priest had told me, explained to him how all I really wanted was to learn where my great grandparents came from and I also could not help saying that if all I wanted was gossip on people born 100 years ago I wouldn't drive an hour and go thru dusty records I would just make it up! So he evidently talked to the priest and the bishop sent me a letter that I was now to call the church and set up a date and time to visit and look thru the records myself. THe records were in mint condition, the priest "had somewhere to go" the day I asked to come so was not even present, and in one baptism, and only one of the 9 children's baptisms--and not my grandmother's--- was the parish they attended in Poland!! So I wrote the bishop when I got home, told him the condition of the records and the fact that I had found what I was looking for. Also this parish in Poland had been microfilmed by the LDS and I was able to go back several generations! Sorry this was so long but I just wanted you to understand taht sometimes you have to ask a higher authority. Good luck, Joanne