The following comes from a January 8 story on the website of Catholic News Agency.
The personnel files of priests accused of sexual abuse will soon be released by the archdiocese of Los Angeles, cooperating with county Judge Emilie Elias’ order that the files be released without editing.
“The archdiocese will abide by Judge Elias’s decision. We are now working with all parties involved to facilitate the release of the documents as promptly as possible,” said a Jan. 7 statement from the archdiocese.
Carolina Guevara, associate director for media relations, added that the archdiocese “has been committed to the release of the files as part of our continued efforts to inform the public of what had occurred and our efforts to prevent abuse and protect children in our parishes and schools.”
Judge Elias’ order for the release of the files was made at a hearing Jan. 7. In December, attorneys representing plaintiffs had argued that edits proposed by the archdiocese were excessive. The edits were in accord with a 2011 decision by a retired judge named Dickran Tevrizian who was acting as arbiter and who had been chosen by both sides.
Tevrizian’s 2011 decision had been challenged by the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. The two news organizations argued that his decision would “deny the public information that is necessary to fully understand the church’s knowledge about the serial molestation of children by priests over a period of decades.”
The retired judge’s decision was the result of a 2007 “global settlement” between the archdiocese and victims of priest sexual abuse.
“That settlement included an agreement by the archdiocese to release pertinent information from files of priests who had been publicly accused of abuse and who were the subject of the settlement,” Archbishop Gomez wrote in a letter to his priests Dec. 20.
To read the entire story, click here.
Seems to me that many priests will be pronounced guilty without trial.
The Los Angeles Times is anti-Catholic, and I am very glad to have cancelled my subscription 10 years ago.
Archbishop José Gomez is doing the right thing, but where do the named priests that are innocent go to get their reputations back?
And whom do we trust that these files will be comprehensive and authentic?
Had the American hierarchy come out with a firm policy 40 or 50 years ago that stated publicly that if you see any crimes in the Catnolic church they must be reported to the state police,it would have saved a couple of billions(with a B) of the laity hard earned money and prevented a loss of a couple of generations of Catholic’s faith among the youth.
Why this was not done is still a mystery to me.
They don’t care much about the billions because they have plenty govt money to work with. Your hard earned donations simply are an indirect tax by the US and state govts to keep you down on the farm.
“The personnel files of priests ACCUSED of sexual abuse will soon be released…”
why stop here?
why not publish the names of every person in the country who has been accused of anything bad?
and then, years later, in very small print, maybe, just maybe, indicate who was also found INNOCENT of these charges…
but it’s the ACCUSATION that will sell more newspapers, of course!
You have a point, a good one, maybe two. But don’t you think that with the hierarchy and clergy; (priests through cardinals, maybe highter), by their obstinate and determined looking and living the other way, through several decades, invited the general condemnation which must be a terrible cross to so many.
The pressure ought to sway moral religious to get rid of the deadwood asap; problem solved.
Suppose that all the Police Depts. and District Attorneys in the country had been Catholic when a victim or a parent of a victim filed a complaint against a priest, do you think there would have been an investigation or prosecution of the priest? Just asking. The complaints were shoved aside until there was a no way they could be ignored anymore. It’s time it all came to light, and the Church hierarchy allow only holy priests and religious. It’s better to have fewer priests than allow pedophiles to prey on victims and ruin their lives. No homosexuals should be allowed to enter the seminaries and men of weak character should be weeded out whenever found.
“Every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”: When will the Church understand what Jesus is saying?
Larry, you have a great thought in your comment, though I wonder if the “Spirit of Vatican II” had already infected the hierarchy at that time.
Did you mean to blame Vatican II for events that occurred prior to it? Sounds like it.
I haven’t talked to anyone who doesn’t have a story of a teacher or coach taking advantage of a student during their time in school, and this cuts across states, ages, and school sizes.
A release of all the names of those employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District and accused of molestation would be welcome.
Thanks to the criminal behavior and negligent indifference of our Holy Catholic Church, the child abuse personnel files will fill a moving van, rather than just a thumbnail report. The Church has proven many, many times over that the laity are just as holy as the clergy and heiracrchy. No more can the heirarchy say that they are holier and more blessed than the laity….if the heirarchy are holier, they need to prove it.
Our Catholic Church is not the only major instutution to be infected with this shameful child abuse conduct and coverup….the Boy Scouts of America just released their files after years of litigation. I assure you that the BSA files really do show a chronic lapse of judgement, ethics and concern for children …Scouts Honor!
good comments goodcause. It’s a sad time for all of us, not only for the victims but for even the innocent priest falsely accused and not defended well. No one wins when our church neglects it’s responsibilities. This is a tough one that is for sure. Its painful and hurtful. If we want justice to prevail, we need to also defend all victims, including priests that were falsely accused.
God help heal those innocent children, my heart and prayers are with them and their families. We only seek justice.
goodcause,
If someone entered into your house and held you hostage for many years and used your good name to commit heinous acts, those acts would also be blamed on you, and that would be another terrible injustice.
Jesus Christ’s Holy Catholic Church is not criminal, negligent or indifferent. You are showing an underhanded willingness to damage the memory of the real reason that Christ founded his Church on earth and what Christ wanted his Church to represent. Individuals within the Church have shown betrayal to his teachings, criminal behavior, negligence to discipline, negligence to teach, negligence in enforcing the teachings which are included in the word indifference. “If you love Me, you will keep My Commandments. If the secrets of Fatima are any indicator of the apostasy taking place within the Church then you’d better best specifically clarify who you are calling a criminal because it is certainly not Christ or his Church itself that has gone against itself.
You’d better pick a side and not the side of fellow apostates within the Church who will criticize the Church with sly and underhanded motives. “What is bad will be seen as good” and what is good will be seen as bad,” Is your goodcause really the bad cause of working to change certain teachings? Wake up from your rebellious slumber and stop blaming Christ’s Church or the Boy Scouts for you’re real underlying cause of your rebellion. There is no better time in Church history for you to learn that there is really no such thing as *breaking* the Commandments of God. When we mock God or disobey God’s Commandments and Church teaching, those Commandment and teachings still remain perfectly intact, we only end up breaking ourselves. It is the continuing rejection of Christ that has brought the entire world to such a broken and Godless state.
cont.
good cause,
Your post is cleverly written but you gave away the real hidden motive of your attack. Yes, the Boy Scouts will also have to deal with the “individuals” who either molested, protected, or those who failed to remove the offenders. Do not use the sins of the Boy Scouts as a comparison to Christ because you are angry with them for their banning of homosexuals to a comparison of Christ’s Holy Catholic Church. Homosexuals have never been banned from joining the Catholic Church. AND after the initial John Jay report, we certainly know that for sure. Individuals within the Church have been criminally negligent and failed to discipline. Individuals have also failed to uphold Church teaching and failed to teach. Because of Original sin there ARE certain homosexuals as well as heterosexuals who are still actively working within the Catholic Church to change the Church’s teaching on the acceptance of homosexual unions and homosexual acts.
This is why you were pleased to give some more jabs to the clergy who were telling others not to commit homosexual acts from the pulpit while they were committing these criminal acts on children as well as committing unnatural acts with consenting adults too.
There are homosexuals who have visited this website who have had a true conversion. They do not hide within the Church to denounce her and call her criminal negligent and indifferent so they can be seen as being on a par with the clergy or hierarchy in order to have others think that they need to change Church’s teachings too. The Catholic Church is the spotless and unblemished bride of Christ and her teachings on these specific matters will never change, Stop the bad cause of trying to change Christ and his gospel and let the good cause of Christ’s authentic teachings and gospel change YOU.
Always the soap opera drama. Always reading some great evil into some poor person’s post. “We don’t break the 10 Commandments. We can only break ourselves on them.” is attributed to a Methodist preacher who started the Ashram movement which combines Christianity with elements of Hindu. Catholics talk about sins against the Commandments which are grave offenses.
I don’t know what to think about this. One hand I feel good, let them expose the bad ones but on the other hand I am concerned that a good innocent priest may have been falsely accused and he may have to deal with this horrible injustice once again.
The report should also list “ALL” religious brothers and nuns, who have also been involved in molestation and sexual misconduct with not only minors, but vulnerable adults as well. These predators have used their title and position to seduce and betray many people in the archdiocese… they all should be exposed for what they are! I can think of 2 “brothers” who have slithered through the cracks, and are predatory vermin. One “religious brother” was caught red-handed, and was compelled to surrender his nursing license, after he was busted for molesting a patient at a hospital! You can’t make this stuff up it’s so outrageous… it would make Caligula blush it’s so revolting!
One more thing… this religious brother, who surrendered his nursing license, was the vocation director for a prominent religious community in the archdiocese of Los Angeles… ain’t life grand!
The leadership of the Church is responsible for whatever is in the files. When they are released, read them and weep for the victims and their families.
Only those should be released where the accused was found guilty.
We have some nut cases accusing priests and bishops because they want money or attention.
Found guilty Mackz?… you’re walkin’ around blind without a cane senor… most of these abusers were never found guilty of anything BECAUSE THEY PAYED FOR THE SILENCE OF THE VICTIM’S! This was facilitated by and large out of court settlements and confidentiality agreements that the plaintiff had to sign… this would effectively put a gag order on the accuser from ever accusing the abuser again! Then he (the perpetrator priest) would be sent for counseling, transferred to a new parish… and proceed to molest and defile the innocent ALL OVER AGAIN!… This is the game that was played for yeeeeeeeears, in this and many diocese across the land… in fact the world.
Almost seems like a RICO violation.
Mackz, priests are meant to walk the walk, talk the talk, look the look, and be holy, be Jesus as much as God would have them to be … and don’t tell me God is comfortable with half hearted efforts at holiness. So, the upshot is that priests need to out the bad guys … ie, throw them out, get rid of them, divest them of all clarical status … and let the cops manage the legal aspects.
One more thing… consider this my last word on the matter. These priests and religious that have perpetrated the vile and unthinkable acts of sexual misconduct with children and the laity are by and large suffering from the personality disorder “antisocial personality disorder” …these fallen priests are in major denial about their criminal behavior… some of them are actually bitter and hostile, because they were caught and exposed for what they are! Many of these men have expressed little if any contrition for these heinous crimes… why?… because they have no conscience, e.g. they suffer from sociopathy… One Bishop, who was caught in the most shocking, scandalous behavior imaginable, used to provide a young, newly ordained priest with a beeper… this way he could contact him whenever he wanted sex!… he was simultaneously being black-mailed by a former lover, which necessitated he pay out blackmail money to silence this “human stain”… He was also found guilty of ripping off the Church in order to silence his blackmailer and live the opulent and sensual lifestyle he had grown accustomed to… When the Church hierarchy decides that they should stop ordaining openly homosexual men who are indulging in this perversion, much of this male on male molestation will cease! Until then, more young men will be seduced and defiled by these predators… Pray God it happens no more and that these seminarians are outed before they can spread their unholy disease any further into our parishes, religious schools and Catholic universities. Pray to the Blessed Mother that this horror will somehow end, and that virtue and humility will reign over our magnificent Church, that was founded by Christ Jesus personally, in the year 33, in Jerusalem.
Some of these perps have crept into skilled nursing facilities, board and care homes and acute care hospitals. Especially Catholic healthcare facilities. Be on guard for them…they are living in these facilities as temporary patients, some have posed as chaplains… still others come and go as guests and visitors, who arrive to visit sick priests and religious. Still others have actually WORKED, or may be WORKING, in these “care settings”, posing as healthcare professionals. Be vigilant! If they are freely moving about in a medicare/medi-cal facility, the administrator could lose his license and the facility could lose it’s “medicare” status for governmental reimbursement, for services rendered to patients. This is no joke! If a person becomes aware that a former priest, or religious, who is on the “bishopsaccountability.org website”, the administrator and owners of the facility could be sanctioned and fined, and would have to render an account before “the man”. If a person becomes aware of this activity, they need to contact the local law enforcement authorities, as well as the ombudsman for the facility, without delay! This will keep those most vulnerable, from falling prey to these spurious ex-clergy.
The reason victims were compelled to sign confidentiality agreements was to protect the perpetrator, and preserve the status quo. Sadly, all this did was allow these predators, (who are in denial), to continue to victimize more innocent church members. These priest’s and religious should never have been ordained, nor allowed in religious life in the first place.
The pedophile outbreak is a direct result of the overflow number of ordained homosexuals to the ministerial priesthood. Without equivocation, this diabolical fruit has burgeoned since the close of Vatican II in 1965. Homosexual modernists have contaminated our Holy Church for almost half a century, in fact before the opening of the second Vatican Council, modernism was a cancerous blight that had strong roots in the philosophical teachings of Kant and Bergson. Pope Saint Pius the X called modernism the “synthesis of all heresies”… and Pope Paul the VI declared after Vatican II, that “the smoke of Satan had entered the Church”… more prophetic words were never spoken by these two holy and humble “Prince’s of the Church”. Pray for a supernatural grace and healing within the Church and pray to the Blessed Mother, that she will protect the innocents of the Church as only our spiritual mother could. Praised be Jesus Christ… forever…
Rhodesian,
Please do not put Pope Saint Pius the X and Pope Paul the VI on the same level. Pope Pius X did everything he could to condem and counteract modernism, while Pope Paul VI usered it in and opened the doors and windows for said smoke to enter!
Or, can it not be possible that Pope Paul VI opened the windows and doors to let the smoke out. Is it not the case that the culprits are being smoked out? More and more of them are losing their hiding places.
Well said Skai…well said…
Really? Wow I never knew that homosexuals molest little girls. Or that all the priests and bishops who looked the other way and who covered up what was going on were also homosexuals. Interesting. I’ll have to read up on that.
People who commit sexual sins, are capable of anything according to their own selfish desires.
CCC: ” 2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.”
CCC: ” 2349 People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to their state of life.
Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner.
Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are married or single.
Married people are called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence. “
It’s unfortunate that the “bishopsaccountability.org” website does not include all “religious” brothers and nuns, who were involved in sexual misconduct and similar forms of criminal perversion, like the priests who have been plastered on this webpage. Hopefully, with time, these other “vermin” will be included on this website… it needs to be amplified, as I am sure many, many other “religious”, who have committed sexual misconduct with children and vulnerable adults, have not yet been included. God knows who these degenerates are… and they will be punished accordingly… if not now, in the life to come… Pray for these casualties, their families and all those who have been the victim of these perpetrators.
Nobody has ever addressed the question of why such files exist. Why would someone keep files that would incriminate them? Even the government does this. Is there such extreme ultra vanity in these souls that they fancy that what they’re doing is writing glorious epitaphs of themselves?
Arrogance… supreme hubris …reveling in their shame… “their shame is their glory”…as Saint Paul said. These clerics and bishops who are guilty of this misconduct are angry, and bitter… bitter that they have been exposed, bitter that they are subject to ridicule and scrutiny! They believe they can do whatever it is they will… many live shockingly scandalous lifestyles… and are more hedonistic and worldly than most secular peoples. They are captivated by the glamour of the world and the praise and adulation of society. Many of these “religious” frauds even have graduate degrees in theology and ethics… somehow believing that these credentials will allow them to hide their spiritual crimes. God sees all that they do… and these profligates will answer for this shameful display of hypocrisy. Also, many of these wayward priests and religious suffer from sociopathy… they are devoid of conscience and are quite capable of shockingly redundant immoral and criminal behavior and feel not the slightest amount of remorse… yes, “the smoke of Satan has entered the Church” as Pope Paul the VI astutely proclaimed.
Sodomy is a sin that “cries to Heaven for vengeance”… garden variety fornication between heterosexuals is gravely sinful and wrong… but at least the act of sex is following its natural order… between man and woman… the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of the homosexual depravity that its inhabitants were steeped in… God made Adam and Eve… not Adam and Steve.
Cardinal Mahony and his predecessor Cardinal Manning both used to play “hide the pedophile.” It was a game that went on for years. Cdl. Mahony became the master of this sinister game. He was schooled by one of the best. Bishop Curry has proven very adroit in this “game of shame” as well.
A religious “brother”… who was also a registered nurse, was busted a couple of years ago in Ventura… apparently this “religious brother” fondled/molested a patient, while involved in his nursing duties at the hospital. He surrendered his nursing license to the “board of registered nursing” and admitted his guilt. The religious community he is a member of is committed to serving the sick and indigent. This sexual predator and criminal is another horrifying example of predatory clergy and religious… even working under the guise of a health care practitioner! Shocking, positively shocking…
For every action their is an equal and opposite reaction… this is what physics teaches us… the present “reactions” are the aftermath of the initial “actions” that transpired so long ago… the wheel has turned… it’s a time of reckoning… enjoy.
What most people find reprehensible in Cardinal Mahony’s presentation is his inability to be truly candid. The healing would slowly begin and the enmity wouldn’t be so intense if he expressed “true contrition” and asked for forgiveness and proclaimed that he has personally “asked for forgiveness” from God, for his profound arrogance and apathy, and request prayers for himself, and all the victims and families who have been traumatized by these diabolical clerics, who were given multiple opportunities to continue victimizing, even after they were exposed for committing incomprehensible and monstrous acts against innocent children and fragile young adults… who trusted!
He needs to articulate, with sorrow and contrition, that he failed, HORRIBLY, in his post as Archbishop of Los Angeles and in his failure, ask for forgiveness and mercy for his shockingly poor judgement and at times laissez-faire attitude in dealing with these perpetrators, who casually drifted from counseling session to parish… without a care in the world… they knew they weren’t going to prison… which is where these men “ALL” should have gone… certainly not placed back into circulation, to victimize parishioners all over again.
What so many people feel, I as well, is the lack of contrition expressed by these rapist priests, who deny most of the allegations, or express little or no contrition for the gravely sinful acts they have perpetrated! The smug, almost cavalier-like attitude some of these bishops and priests have presented, even after brought under control by the authorities, makes this criminal activity all the more maddening and painful.
As Pope Saint Pius proclaimed… “modernism is the synthesis of all heresies”… this horrific chapter in the Church’s history is a direct result and outgrowth of modernism that has caused so much corruption in our present day Church. Always remember… a toehold becomes a foothold and a foothold becomes a stronghold… the evil one never rests or sleeps…
The religious brother who surrendered his nursing license for misconduct has a criminal conviction of assault. While performing his duties as a registered nurse, he molested a patient and was subsequently arrested. He may get his nursing license reinstated at some time, but he will never work in a hospital again, due to his assault conviction for molesting a patient. He better find a new source of livelihood for the “brothers”, because his nursing days are over… couldn’t happen to a nicer person. It must be humiliating for this information to be plastered on the internet (I found it with no problem) and to be viewed as a pariah in the healthcare community. A source of derision… shame.
The pedophile angle needs to be brought into greater focus. The reason males primarily, (96%) are being molested and raped, is because these priests are gay! Many of the young men they have defiled are old enough to father their own families, these homosexual priests are looking for clandestine romance, with underage males, who are going thru puberty, or are past it! They aren’t cruising elementary schools looking for 7 year old’s…uh-uh, they want young men, who are around 14 on up. The seminaries are crawling with hungry, twisted homosexual men, chomping at the bit for ordination and some guy they can sodomize…they want the sex plus the clerical perks. This behavior is truly, truly evil and disordered in fact it is demonic….Pray for our Catholic leaders to pull the plug on these seminaries that are nothing more then “bathhouses”. It’s almost a prerequisite that you are “gay” before you are accepted into the seminary…utterly grotesque. We need seminaries that not only teach theology and philosophy, it needs to teach virtue, humility and piety
The Catholic Church is the true Church started by our Lord in the year 33 in Jerusalem. I love and cherish my faith…I do not cherish the clergy who have criminally molested children and then slyly tried to conceal the problem with out of court settlements and confidentiality agreements! Everybody knows that these confidentiality agreements were put in place to protect the perps from having their name tarnished and in order to keep them from going to prison, which is where these social deviants and miscreants belong(ed)…Cardinal Mahony will forever have a tarnished legacy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for his failure to combat this issue with greater tenacity. Instead of aiding in the amelioration of this travesty…he became the very “face” of this monstrous cover-up