$660 Million for stonewalling

Roman Catholic bishops created this sad mess by their blindness and arrogance, refusing to accept research, study and evidence that many scandals were coming, as far back as the 1980s. Father Eugene Kennedy has detailed some of this stubbornness and denial.

My priest friends in California say this went on much longer than necessary because Mahoney was so hard nosed about it.

I myself wrote four letters to the bishop of Lexington in 1993, warning him that priests were uneducated in their sexuality and scandals were coming here unless he acted. Being a psychotherapist in private practice I was too aware of what was happening and saw a number of persons abused by priests. Bishop Ken Williams never responded, (not once to four letters explaining why training was essential) even tho I had been in hjs office several times,. and had an ongoing request to be put on his schedule with the chancellor at the time. I thought we had a good relationship and he complimented me on my work, but this issue was not one he was willing to address.

Paschal Baute
Pastoral psychologist.

July 16, 2007

Judge Accepts Settlement in Los Angeles Abuse Cases

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Four years of legal combat ended today when a judge in Los Angeles accepted a $660 million settlement between the city’s Roman Catholic diocese and 508 people who had filed suit over sexual abuse by priests and members of Catholic orders. The acceptance of the agreement reached late Saturday night came on the day when the trial of the abuse cases was scheduled to begin.

The settlement is the largest yet in any Catholic diocese — amounting to about $1.3 million per person involved. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States has paid more than $2 billion in settlements and legal judgments to victims of sexual abuse and their families.

Some Roman Catholic parishioners in Los Angeles said that they were eager to see the victims compensated, but that the drawn-out legal battle had soured them on Cardinal Mahony’s leadership.

“I don’t think they’re getting enough money. There’s no amount that can compensate them,” said Cheryl Ortega, 59, a parishioner at Our Mother of Good Counsel church, in Los Feliz.

Steve Mills, 52, a parishioner there for 25 years, said he was appalled that the negotiations took so long and cost the archdiocese so much money that could have been used to help the poor or build schools.

“My opinion of the cardinal has gone down because of all this,” Mr. Mills said. “And it seems with everybody I talk to this is true.”

Cardinal Mahony said that $250 million would be paid by the archdiocese, $227 million by insurers, $60 million by religious orders whose priests and brothers are accused of perpetrating some of the abuse. He said the remainder, $123 million, would come from “other sources,” including religious orders “not yet participating” in the settlement.

He said that to pay for the settlement, the archdiocese would sell some properties, liquidate some investments and borrow some money. He said the archdiocese would not need to end any “core” functions, or to sell any parish properties or schools.

The size of the settlement may reflect the archdiocese’s tremendous financial risk had it taken these cases to trial, said Carl Tobias, the Williams Professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, in Virginia.

“California judges and juries are more used to big settlements, or big verdicts,” he said. “When the defendants are more concerned about their exposure, there is more willingness to pay more in a settlement.”

People in Los Angeles who contended they were sexually abused said they were eager to move on, but had some misgivings because they believe that Cardinal Mahony and other church leaders who were culpable would likely never be held personally accountable.

Tony Almeida, a Los Angeles firefighter, said he had been emotionally preparing himself to testify at the trial that was to open Monday that the Rev. Clinton Hagenbach repeatedly molested him and other altar boys, and once pinned him down and raped him. Mr. Almeida, who is 44, said he attributes his alcoholism, aggression, depression and two broken marriages, in part, to the abuse and the years of suppressing the memories.

“My life is just a mess. With therapy, I think I’m doing a little better. This settlement is not going to fix everything, I understand that,” he said, but added, “It is a compensation for what I’ve gone through. But I still feel the church needs to be held accountable for what they’ve done to me, and my life.”

He said he was relieved that he would not have to testify in court, because even the three days of giving depositions — the first time he had to recount details of the abuse in public — caused his blood pressure to spike so high he had to take a leave from work.

“I could have gone to trial and won more money. But to tell you the truth, just going through the depositions was hard enough for me,” he said. “I’m tired of the pain and I want to go on with my life.”

John Manly, a lawyer for 50 of the plaintiffs in the case, said they had been forced to use the civil courts to expose sexual predators and call church officials to account because the criminal justice system had failed.

“I think the question people need to ask themselves is how can Roger Mahony pay three-quarters of a billion for criminal acts, and essentially walk free?” Mr. Manly said. “Especially since it’s other people’s money, and he has clearly been give special treatment by law enforcement and the power structure in L.A. When is there going to be some accountability, and if not, why?”

Cardinal Mahony said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon, “Yes, I’ve made mistakes.”

“But I didn’t know,” he said, that the treatment programs where he sent some predatory priests, before returning them to ministry, were not effective.

[Catholic bishops hired a priest researcher, and then when they did not like his report, fired him. It was once again, shooting the messenger of bad news. The story of their denial and cover-up is a long and sad one. ]

He said to the victims that he wished he could restore their lives to where they were before the abuse occurred. “Your life, I wish, were like a VHS tape” that could be rewound, he said.

Michael Parrish contributed reporting from Los Angeles.