Five years after promising to do so, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will give the confidential personnel files of about 200 priests accused of sex abuse and child molestation to a judge in December. Those documents — with the names of innocent individuals redacted — will ultimately be made public under the Archdiocese’s record $660 million settlement in 2007 to 508 people who said they were victims. During a hearing Friday, Judge Emily Elias asked lawyers for both the archdiocese and victims about the status of the redacted papers and when they could be delivered to her (Los Angeles Daily News)."
Related: Judge demands files on priests in Los Angeles
"Calif. judge orders release of unredacted priest files" by Greg Risling | Associated Press, January 08, 2013
"Calif. judge orders release of unredacted priest files" by Greg Risling | Associated Press, January 08, 2013
LOS ANGELES — A judge on Monday ordered the release of thousands of pages of personnel files that would identify Roman Catholic priests accused of child molestation and their leaders in the church.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Emilie Elias contradicts a previous order in 2010 by another judge that allowed the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to redact the names of church leaders.
Attorneys for the archdiocese previously said they planned to make the confidential files public by the middle of this month with the names of the church hierarchy blacked out. It was unclear how long it would take to adhere to the new ruling. Church attorneys expressed concern about examining 30,000 pages of documents.
Elias heard oral arguments before issuing her ruling. She continued to meet with attorneys after the hearing.
The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times intervened in the case in December and argued in court papers that the redactions would prevent the public from learning which church officials knew about abusive priests, how much they knew, and how they handled it.
Files released in other dioceses, such as Boston, have shown that the church shuffled priests among parishes without calling police.
More than 550 plaintiffs settled with the archdiocese in 2007 for a record-breaking $660 million, but the agreement called for a process to vet personnel files for future release.
--more--"
"Files show LA cardinal shielded abusers" Associated Press, January 22, 2013
LOS ANGELES — Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles maneuvered behind the scenes to shield priests who molested children, provide damage control for the church, and keep parishioners in the dark, according to church personnel files.
The confidential records filed in a lawsuit against the archdiocese disclose how the church handled abuse allegations for decades and also reveal dissent from a top Mahony aide who criticized his superiors for covering up allegations of abuse rather than protecting children.
Notes written by Mahony demonstrate he was disturbed about abuse and sent problem priests for treatment, but there also were lengthy delays or oversights in some cases. Mahony received reports on some priests that mentioned the possibility of other victims, for example, but there is no indication that he or other church leaders investigated further.
‘‘This is all intolerable and unacceptable to me,’’ Mahony wrote in 1991 on a file of the Rev. Lynn Caffoe, a priest suspected of locking boys in his room, videotaping their crotches, and running up a $100 phone sex bill while with a boy.
Caffoe was sent for therapy and removed from ministry, but Mahony did not move to defrock him until 2004, a decade after the archdiocese lost track of him.
‘‘He is a fugitive from justice,’’ Mahony wrote to the Vatican’s Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. ‘‘A check of the Social Security index discloses no report of his demise, so presumably he is alive somewhere.’’
Caffoe died in 2009, six years after a newspaper reporter found him working at a homeless mission two blocks from an elementary school.
Mahony issued a statement Monday apologizing for his mistakes and saying he had been ‘‘naive’’ about the lasting impacts of abuse.
He has since met with 90 abuse victims privately and keeps an index card with each victim’s name in his private chapel, where he prays for them daily, he said.
The apology stands in contrast to letters Mahony was writing to accused priests more than two decades ago.
The church’s sex abuse policy was evolving and Mahony inherited some of the worst cases from his predecessor when he took over in 1985, said J. Michael Hennigan, an archdiocese attorney.
"Prosecutors to view LA church abuse files" by Gillian Flaccus | Associated Press, January 23, 2013
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors who have been stymied for years in their attempts to build a criminal conspiracy case against retired Los Angeles Archdiocese Cardinal Roger Mahony and other church leaders said Tuesday that they will review newly released priest files for additional evidence....
Legal specialists, however, said that even if the documents contain new evidence, it will be almost impossible to prosecute because of problems with the statute of limitations. It’s also unclear whether prosecutors, who received some documents via subpoena years ago, already have seen the files made public.
The time window for prosecuting obstruction of justice is 10 years and for conspiracy, it’s three years after the last overt criminal act, said Lawrence Rosenthal, a criminal law professor at Chapman University School of Law.
Much of the material in the files dates to the mid-1980s.
Mahony apologized Monday for mistakes he made after taking over the nation’s largest archdiocese in 1985. An attorney for the church, J. Michael Hennigan, has denied that there was a coverup attempt. He didn’t return a call Tuesday....
That pretty much confirms that there was.
--more--"
"LA church files show a slow abuse response; Officials often did not believe the accusations" by Jennifer Medina and Laurie Goodstein | New York Times, February 02, 2013
LOS ANGELES — The church files are filled with outrage, pain, and confusion. There are handwritten notes from distraught mothers, accounts of furious phone calls from brothers, and perplexed inquiries from police following up on allegations of priests sexually abusing children.
Over four decades, particularly under Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, parishioners in the nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese repeatedly tried to alert church authorities about abusive priests in their midst, trusting that the church would respond appropriately.
But the internal personnel files on 124 priests released by the archdiocese under court order on Thursday reveal a very different response: how church officials initially disbelieved them and grew increasingly alarmed over the years, only as multiple victims of the same priest came forward and reported similar experiences. Even then, in some cases, priests were shuttled out of state or out of the country to avoid criminal investigations.
A sampling of the 12,000 pages suggests that Mahony and other top church officials dealt with the accusations of abuse regularly and intimately throughout the last several decades.
It often took years to even reach the realization that a priest could no longer simply be sent to a rehabilitation center and instead must be removed from ministry or even defrocked.
In one case, the Rev. Jose I. Ugarte was accused by a physician of having drugged and raped a young boy in a hotel in Ensenada, Calif., and of taking boys every weekend to a cabin in Big Bear.
But rather than turn Ugarte over to the authorities, Mahony decided to send him back to Spain, made him sign a document promising not to return to the United States without permission for seven years, not to celebrate Mass in public and to seek employment in ‘‘a secular occupation in order to become self-supporting.’’
The current archbishop, Jose H. Gomez, who succeeded Mahony when he retired two years ago, took the unusual if not unprecedented step Thursday night of censuring his predecessor, calling the documents he released late Thursday ‘‘brutal and painful reading’’ and announcing that he was removing him from administrative and public duties. He also accepted the resignation of one of his auxiliary bishops, Thomas Curry.
But in an extraordinary public confrontation between bishops, Mahony adamantly defended himself Friday, posting on his blog a letter he had sent to Gomez. The cardinal insisted that his approach to sexual abuse evolved as he learned more over the years, and that his archdiocese had been in the forefront of reforms to prevent abuse and respond to victims.
Mahony implied that his successor’s censure of him was unexpected and unwarranted: ‘‘Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors.’’
Church experts agreed that it was the first time a bishop has publicly condemned another bishop’s failures in the abuse scandal, which has occupied the American bishops for nearly three decades....
The Los Angeles church files are not unlike other documents unearthed in the church’s long-running abuse scandal in the United States, but it appears to be the largest cache....
--more--"
"Church failed on abuse, archbishop says" Associated Press, February 04, 2013
LOS ANGELES — Archbishop Jose Gomez, in a letter to parishioners Sunday, described newly released files on clergy sex abuse as ‘‘terribly sad and evil.’’
Church leaders read the archbishop’s words at Sunday Mass across the archdiocese.
Gomez said the church needs to acknowledge the ‘‘terrible failure’’ of its handling of abuse cases.
On Thursday, Gomez took away the administrative duties of his predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, for failing to take swift action against abusers. In a letter posted on his personal blog Friday, Mahony challenged Gomez for publicly shaming him.
Gomez’s rebuke and Mahony’s public response were unprecedented because they revealed infighting between two church leaders in a Roman Catholic hierarchy that rarely break ranks publicly, said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer.
After a court order, the church posted on its website tens of thousands of pages of the previously secret personnel files of 122 priests accused of molesting children.
--more--"
It's enough to make one want to drink:
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors who have been stymied for years in their attempts to build a criminal conspiracy case against retired Los Angeles Archdiocese Cardinal Roger Mahony and other church leaders said Tuesday that they will review newly released priest files for additional evidence....
Legal specialists, however, said that even if the documents contain new evidence, it will be almost impossible to prosecute because of problems with the statute of limitations. It’s also unclear whether prosecutors, who received some documents via subpoena years ago, already have seen the files made public.
The time window for prosecuting obstruction of justice is 10 years and for conspiracy, it’s three years after the last overt criminal act, said Lawrence Rosenthal, a criminal law professor at Chapman University School of Law.
Much of the material in the files dates to the mid-1980s.
Mahony apologized Monday for mistakes he made after taking over the nation’s largest archdiocese in 1985. An attorney for the church, J. Michael Hennigan, has denied that there was a coverup attempt. He didn’t return a call Tuesday....
That pretty much confirms that there was.
--more--"
"LA church files show a slow abuse response; Officials often did not believe the accusations" by Jennifer Medina and Laurie Goodstein | New York Times, February 02, 2013
LOS ANGELES — The church files are filled with outrage, pain, and confusion. There are handwritten notes from distraught mothers, accounts of furious phone calls from brothers, and perplexed inquiries from police following up on allegations of priests sexually abusing children.
Over four decades, particularly under Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, parishioners in the nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese repeatedly tried to alert church authorities about abusive priests in their midst, trusting that the church would respond appropriately.
But the internal personnel files on 124 priests released by the archdiocese under court order on Thursday reveal a very different response: how church officials initially disbelieved them and grew increasingly alarmed over the years, only as multiple victims of the same priest came forward and reported similar experiences. Even then, in some cases, priests were shuttled out of state or out of the country to avoid criminal investigations.
A sampling of the 12,000 pages suggests that Mahony and other top church officials dealt with the accusations of abuse regularly and intimately throughout the last several decades.
It often took years to even reach the realization that a priest could no longer simply be sent to a rehabilitation center and instead must be removed from ministry or even defrocked.
In one case, the Rev. Jose I. Ugarte was accused by a physician of having drugged and raped a young boy in a hotel in Ensenada, Calif., and of taking boys every weekend to a cabin in Big Bear.
But rather than turn Ugarte over to the authorities, Mahony decided to send him back to Spain, made him sign a document promising not to return to the United States without permission for seven years, not to celebrate Mass in public and to seek employment in ‘‘a secular occupation in order to become self-supporting.’’
The current archbishop, Jose H. Gomez, who succeeded Mahony when he retired two years ago, took the unusual if not unprecedented step Thursday night of censuring his predecessor, calling the documents he released late Thursday ‘‘brutal and painful reading’’ and announcing that he was removing him from administrative and public duties. He also accepted the resignation of one of his auxiliary bishops, Thomas Curry.
But in an extraordinary public confrontation between bishops, Mahony adamantly defended himself Friday, posting on his blog a letter he had sent to Gomez. The cardinal insisted that his approach to sexual abuse evolved as he learned more over the years, and that his archdiocese had been in the forefront of reforms to prevent abuse and respond to victims.
Mahony implied that his successor’s censure of him was unexpected and unwarranted: ‘‘Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors.’’
Church experts agreed that it was the first time a bishop has publicly condemned another bishop’s failures in the abuse scandal, which has occupied the American bishops for nearly three decades....
The Los Angeles church files are not unlike other documents unearthed in the church’s long-running abuse scandal in the United States, but it appears to be the largest cache....
--more--"
"Church failed on abuse, archbishop says" Associated Press, February 04, 2013
LOS ANGELES — Archbishop Jose Gomez, in a letter to parishioners Sunday, described newly released files on clergy sex abuse as ‘‘terribly sad and evil.’’
Church leaders read the archbishop’s words at Sunday Mass across the archdiocese.
Gomez said the church needs to acknowledge the ‘‘terrible failure’’ of its handling of abuse cases.
On Thursday, Gomez took away the administrative duties of his predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, for failing to take swift action against abusers. In a letter posted on his personal blog Friday, Mahony challenged Gomez for publicly shaming him.
Gomez’s rebuke and Mahony’s public response were unprecedented because they revealed infighting between two church leaders in a Roman Catholic hierarchy that rarely break ranks publicly, said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer.
After a court order, the church posted on its website tens of thousands of pages of the previously secret personnel files of 122 priests accused of molesting children.
--more--"
It's enough to make one want to drink:
"Calif. archbishop-elect in DUI arrest" Associated Press, August 28, 2012
SAN DIEGO — The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, San Diego police said Monday.
The Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, a vigorous supporter of California’s same-sex marriage ban, was taken into custody after being stopped early Saturday at a police checkpoint near the San Diego State University campus, said Detective Gary Hassen, a police spokesman....
The stop was made at 12:26 a.m. on the outskirts of the campus, a residential area of modest houses, apartment buildings, and restaurants....
--more--"
Another joke:
"Evangelist seeks $5m from church" Associated Press, November 03, 2012
The aging founder of the Crystal Cathedral has gone to court seeking more than $5 million from the ministry he built from scratch in a dispute that has delayed millions in payments to creditors left short-handed when the church filed for bankruptcy two years ago.
Yeah, I am laughing at.
Yeah, I am laughing at.
The Rev. Robert H. Schuller was in Los Angeles on Thursday for the start of a 10-day trial over copyright infringement, intellectual property, and contract violation allegations that stem from his ministry’s devastating financial collapse....
He's become something of a joke, too.
He's become something of a joke, too.
--more--"
I usually do now.
"Battle over Christmas display goes to LA court" Associated Press, November 19, 2012
"Battle over Christmas display goes to LA court" Associated Press, November 19, 2012
LOS ANGELES — A vocal minority eager to get their non-beliefs into the public square as never before.
Are they going to challenge the Lobby?
Are they going to challenge the Lobby?
Three years ago, Damon Vix applied for and was granted a booth in Palisades Park alongside the story of Jesus Christ’s birth. Vix hung a simple sign that quoted Thomas Jefferson: ‘‘Religions are all alike — founded on fables and mythologies.’’
He was a smart man.
Vix repeated the display the following year, and in 2011, he recruited 10 others to submit applications for tongue-in-cheek displays. The secular coalition won 18 of 21 spaces. The two others went to the traditional Christmas displays and one to a Hanukkah display. National atheist groups are gearing up to battle for their own space alongside public Christmas displays in small towns across America this season....
He was a smart man.
Vix repeated the display the following year, and in 2011, he recruited 10 others to submit applications for tongue-in-cheek displays. The secular coalition won 18 of 21 spaces. The two others went to the traditional Christmas displays and one to a Hanukkah display. National atheist groups are gearing up to battle for their own space alongside public Christmas displays in small towns across America this season....
Oh, they are the Lobby.
The atheist’s anti-God message: ‘‘It’s a sad, sad commentary on the attitudes of the day.’’
It sure is.
--more--"
It sure is.
--more--"
