Parishioners across the sprawling Los Angeles Archdiocese responded with relief, support and a measure of worry Sunday to news that the church will pay $660 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse, the largest payout to date in the nationwide Roman Catholic molestation crisis.
But some also angrily blamed Cardinal Roger M. Mahony for failing to reach a settlement in the local cases years earlier.
But, don’t worry too much about whether the church can afford the settlement. Their property is still untaxed.
“It’s unconscionable what Mahony has done, how he circumvented the law,” one woman said. “Sealing the records was infuriating. What other group of citizens could get away with this?”
After judicial review, Mahony will now be forced to divulge some of the records the Catholic Church kept on abusive priests. Mahony had sealed the records and refused to turn them over to the courts.
Folks interested in researching what info may be available in their own community might also try this site.
If only the common man could repent for his sins with craploads of money…
This just seams ridiculous to me. Money isn’t the answer, jail time is!
Maybe they should have paid $666 Million…?
Well… I guess now all children in the present and the future are safe from sexual abuse?
I’m not saying the Church shouldn’t have to pay this, and I’m no friend of religion, but there is a helluva lot of anger aimed at the entire institution’s millions of members for the actions of how many? Hundreds? Those who perpetrated and covered up these crimes should be, as much as is possible all these years later, held accountable. And the church should pay this settlement…
But this does not signal the end of sexual abuse, nor does it even scratch the surface, and I just think we do well to remember that.
I’d be happy to be abused by a priest for $1,000,000.
#3…… it does not end sexual abuse, but it what it does do it make it very clear to the bean counters that if you try and cover it up or just not to deal with it its going to be expensive!
I am one of those rare people that is a friend of religion and think that churches are generally a benefit to a society, however, they are only a benefit to society if they are kept in their place. I also think that anyone (or institution) that is put in a position of trust should be punished extra hard.
Besides, Christianity in particular always does really well when its a minority religion with no money…. as it gets a bit of money or a bit of power it always ends up loosing the plot a bit…..
Thank you for the link to Bishop Accountability. In it, I just found out about priests in my diocese who were accused of abuse and never made the local newspapers or television news.
This stuff makes me ill and ashamed to call myself a Catholic. The laity is powerless to rid the Church of this scourge, and I no longer wonder why parishoners fail to give for charity, as well as stop going to Mass. The bishops and cardials do, though… maybe they’ve taken a lesson in arrogance from President Bush?
I wonder if this Bishop will get a promotion like Bishop, no Cardinal, Law did for aiding the molestation of children by hushing it up and sending perverts to new parishes with no mention of the sexual assaults.
This is what comes from creating an order based on a life of celibacy.
Priest should be allowed to marry, then they would only be committing adultery.
There’s 1.1 billion Catholics in the world. 50 CENTS of next Sunday’s individual church offerings will go back to abused kids. 50 CENTS!!!
First, the money will never wipe away the abuse. The victims will always remember it.
Second, those who obstructed justice should be held accountable, and not by having the church pay a fine. Bring criminal charges.
Third, I am uncomfortable about releasing someone’s name as an abuser without giving them a sound opportunity to defend themselves against the charge. Too often a mere unsubstantiated allegation is enough to pronounce the person guilty in the publics eyes.
Fourth, this case was not because some priests abused some alter boys. It is about the cover-up by the church hierarchy. The church dragged this out for no sound reason.
#10 – Bring criminal charges.
Absolutely. This thing of pay-as-you’re-accused is just ridiculous. It brings back memories to the Michael Jackson trial, where he paid the kid to shut up.
God is one issue. The Catholic church quite another. The CC chooses to honor celibacy at the expense of alienating itself from the liety. I totally believe many righteous priest knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it. I further believe many of those same priests would have done more if they were married and had kids.
Why would any Catholic support a corrupt organization? Worship God as you will. ———-Sheeple.
#10. True. I NEVER understood how parents of a sexually abused child could just take the complaint to the priest’s boss. Someone rapes your child and you don’t call the cops?!? NPR had one heartbreaking story of a boy who complained to a priest that another priest had molested him. The second priest raped him as well. monstrous.
The priests involved should be prosecuted, and the bishop as well, if there are grounds for it. In some states concealment of a serious felony is a felony. Other states not. After this experience, it should be made so everywhere.
Yay, another group of winners in the American Legal Lottery! There are many other potential organizations these trial lawyers can bankrupt–the sky’s the limit!
Think it’s a coincidence that all of this came out of the woodwork in 2002 when the trial lawyers got a number of states temporarily lifted the statute of limitations so a flood of lawsuits could be unleashed?
While I have some sympathy for vulnerable teenage boys (nutjobs) getting seduced by old queers in positions of trust, I don’t believe for a minute that these (successful) attempts to loot church coffers is truly motivated by anything other than the almighty greenback. I don’t know what sickens me more–pervert priests or the unholy alliance of lawyers and nutjobs bankrupting churches. Notice that organizations like SNAP are not very actively seeking *criminal* prosecutions of pervert priests, but instead promote lawsuits to grab parish funds.
If I get molested by the FSM can I sue? I want some free cash too!!
#14 – Whatever… Let’s just assume it is purely motivated by money… Now, what’s wrong with that.
I get tired of listening to people bitch that someone else got something that they didn’t.