CA - 200 priests accused of sex abuse "hiding in plain sight"

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...buse-living-in-california-victims-lawyer-says

200 priests suspected of abuse living in California, victims' lawyer says
February 11, 2012

"Some 200 Catholic priests suspected of sexual abuse are living undetected in communities across California, according to an attorney who represents hundreds of plaintiffs who sued the LA Archdiocese alleging molestation they say was inflicted on them by priests and clergy of the church. Ray Boucher has mapped 60 locations where suspect priests live, in cities and towns from northern to southern California..."

and

“....Many if not all these priests have admitted to sexual abuse,” Boucher said. “They live within a mile of 1,500 playgrounds, schools and daycare centers.” Since none of the priests has actually been convicted of sex abuse, none can be identified under Megan’s Law, or their whereabouts revealed..."

and

“...What the issue is here, is how you weigh the right of the people,” said Boucher, who is also one of the attorneys representing students in the Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse scandal. “In particular the right of children to be protected from molestation versus the right of privacy...."

More at link


And the original report with a handy map of the location of these priests:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/C...used-Pedophile-Molest-Children-139129294.html

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212565576371148760064.0004b8a3c82342dda8527&msa=0

God damn it, doesnt' this ever end?

When will this ""church" ever admit they screwed up? It is nauseating!

The church will never admit anything. It is so full of worms, there is nothing else left. They will do their utmost to protect the priests. They will just pay lip service to changes within the system that aren't really happening. It disgusts me more than I can say.

Priests Accused of Molesting Children Hiding in Plain Sight
"Some 200 Catholic priests suspected of sexual abuse are living undetected in communities across California, according to an attorney who represents hundreds of plaintiffs who sued the LA Archdiocese for molestation they say was inflicted on them by priests and clergy of the church."...



http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/C...used-Pedophile-Molest-Children-139129294.html

Files show how LA church leaders shielded priests

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...org>&news_id=19271529&src=most_popular_viewed

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles officials maneuvered behind the scenes to shield molester priests, 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 inked 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 psychological reports on some priests that mentioned the possibility of many other victims, for example, but there is no indication that he or other church leaders investigated further...............

Mahony was out of town but 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 card also includes the name of the molesting priest "lest I forget that real priests created this appalling harm."............

Priests were sent out of state for psychological treatment because they revealed more when their therapists were not required to report child abuse to law enforcement, as they were in California, he said.

At the time, clergy were not mandated sex abuse reporters and the church let the victims' families decide whether to contact police, he added.

In at least one case, a priest victimized the children of illegal immigrants and threatened to have them deported if they told, the files show............

Much more in 4 page article....

The Byzantine Catholic Church (also under the Pope) has always allowed married me to be ordained. Allowing married men to be ordained would decrease the incidence of child molestation in the Church. Less than 5% of the sicko offender priests were pedophiles (always sexually attracted to children). The other offenders were very inappropriately seeking sexual release.
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-act...ic-Priests-in-the-United-States-1950-2010.pdf

Priests were sent out of state for psychological treatment because they revealed more when their therapists were not required to report child abuse to law enforcement, as they were in California, he said.

At the time, clergy were not mandated sex abuse reporters and the church let the victims' families decide whether to contact police, he added.

Click to expand...

:thud: This is considered contrition? I hope the index cards have been turned over to LE.

How dare he. How dare he actually insinuate that it was the families who dropped the ball. How dare he spin the shell game of moving these monsters around.

Pensfan said:

The Byzantine Catholic Church (also under the Pope) has always allowed married me to be ordained. Allowing married men to be ordained would decrease the incidence of child molestation in the Church. Less than 5% of the sicko offender priests were pedophiles (always sexually attracted to children). The other offenders were very inappropriately seeking sexual release.
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-act...ic-Priests-in-the-United-States-1950-2010.pdf

Click to expand...

It's been a while since I read the Jay report, and I am not sure I want to again :what: but I can't remember, so maybe you can help me - were numbers ever broken down as to how many of the accused priests were in the eastern Catholic churches (for those who don't know, the eastern rites allow married priests; Pensfan mentioned the Byzantine Catholics, there are also several other branches - Melkites, Ukrainian Catholic, Ruthenian, Greek Catholic, etc) as opposed to the Roman rite (this is the major branch of Catholicism)? I think the numbers would be interesting.

As a "discipline" of the church, as opposed to a dogma, priestly celibacy is a rule that can be changed, and should be, IMO. Whether we will ever see that is another question altogether. The conservatives will howl that it goes against long-standing tradition (ignoring, of course, that the oldest tradition is married priesthood ). But I wonder if the trend of more men coming to the diaconate (deacons can be married) is a slow trend towards bringing back married priesthood?

Anyway, that all said, Mahoney is a snake, and should be out there doing active penance instead of holed up in a chapel praying with his index cards. Bring back public penance for these guys, I say.

Priests' ecclesiastical missteps treated more sternly than abuse ( link )

Mahony defends legacy on church abuse in blog

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?id=19294573&ps=1011&cat=&cps=0&lang=en

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Retired Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony defended his tattered legacy in a sharply worded letter to his successor, a day after Archbishop Jose Gomez stripped him of his administrative duties and bowed to a court order to release thousands of pages of confidential files on sexually abusive priests.

In a letter posted Friday on his personal blog, Mahony challenged Gomez for publicly shaming him and said he developed policies to safeguard children after taking over in 1985, despite being unequipped to deal with the molester priests he inherited.............

"Unfortunately, I cannot return now to the 1980s and reverse actions and decisions made then. But when I retired as the active archbishop, I handed over to you an archdiocese that was second to none in protecting children and youth," Mahony wrote.

The letter was remarkable because it revealed infighting between two highly placed church leaders when members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy rarely break ranks publicly, said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer who worked for the Vatican's Washington, D.C., embassy who also has served as an expert witness for victims in clerical abuse cases.

"It is so rare because they stick together like glue," he said. "The fact that Gomez said what he said, this had to have been cleared by the Vatican, they had to have discussed this with the Vatican. Mahony took the fall."..........

More at link.....

Ah, roger, close your mouth and go back to your chapel. If you can't humbly and silently accept public correction by your Bishop then you have more praying to do. What happened to obedience?

He needs to be sent to do his praying in a monastery, preferably one of the silent orders. They probably wouldn't want him, though.

L.A. Archdiocese, Cardinal Mahony named in $9.9-M sex abuse settlement
March 13, 2013 6:42am
0 0 12

LOS ANGELES - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony and a former priest have agreed to pay a total of nearly $10 million to settle four child sex abuse cases brought against them, lawyers for the victims said on Tuesday.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...al-mahony-named-in-9-9-m-sex-abuse-settlement

Are priests multimillionaires? why will Vatican pay to shut these people up? Why does the archdiocese not want criminals prosecuted? Or if they're innocent, declared not guilty? (The article says no one admits to any wrong doing, yet they're prepared to hand out ten million dollars...)

I don't understand why there is absolutely no heavenly smiting going on these days.

Mahony is out there voting for the new Pope. Wonder who he'll vote for.