The Catholic Church archdiocese of LA and former Cardinal Roger Mahony have settled a child sex abuse deal for one cent short of $10million brought by four victims of a former priest.
The announcement was made as Mahony attends the Conclave in Rome which continues to vote on the election of a new Pope.
Lawyers for the victims have confirmed the deal after Mahony, who retired in 2011 as head of the largest U.S. archdiocese, was accused of helping a confessed pedophile priest evade law enforcement.
Cardinal Roger Mahony removed from public life by LA Archbishop Gomez
Legal documents claimed that Fr Michael Baker molested his four young victims repeatedly in the 1970s, including on overnight trips to San Diego. Baker was convicted of child molestation in 2007.
The lawsuits claim that then-Archbishop Mahony allowed him to continue to minister as a priest even though Baker admitted in 1986 that he had sexually abused minors in the past.
Admitting that his treatment of Baker was his ‘greatest mistake;’ Cardinal Mahony sent the priest out of state to a church-run treatment center before placing him back in the Los Angeles ministry.
Yahoo reports, via Reuters, that as part of the agreement approved by a Los Angeles judge earlier this month, none of the parties admitted wrongdoing.
The plaintiff’s attorney said: “The settlement, together with the recent release of internal church records documenting the role of Mahony and others in covering up child sexual abuse by the clergy, comes as close to an admission of guilt as you’re going to get from the archdiocese.”
Michael Hennigan, lawyer for the archdiocese, has confirmed a settlement in the amount of $9.99 million was reached.
He said: “The archdiocese has always taken the position that we were responsible for the conduct of the pedophile priest named in the case.”
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.KweenOHearts | Mar 14, 2013, 06:16 AM EDT
**LA diocese and Cardinal Roger Mahony settle $10 million sex abuse case** --- Yeah... and on the same day the LA County School District settled a case against the Miramonte School for 30 Million smackers! Hopefully this will be the first among hundreds of cases against pervert teachers who photograph their victims with spoons full of semen in their mouth.
KweenOHearts | Mar 13, 2013, 02:40 PM EDT
Unreal, its not like these Priests were laundering money or boozing and womanizing on the side. Child Rape is what we are talking about. The lowest of the low. Heroin dealers are higher on the rung then these filth. Junkies and one point have a choice to put a needle in their arm. Innocent children do not have that luxury with these predators. They all need thrown in prison, general population and dealt with accordingly.
PhlutiePhan | Mar 13, 2013, 01:40 PM EDT
Mahony had a previous sex abuse settlement in the hundreds of millions. That being said, it was standard procedure from a Church viewpoint to "forgive and reconcile". Mahony was only following S.O.P. for that day and time. In addition, the shark lawyers are usually related to the Democratic Party and using the percentage windfall to fund efforts to destroy the Catholic Church from within by linking reform to the Democratic Party. It doesn't take much imagination to see where the Democratic Party is sending in pols to take high salaries to help with the reform in places such as Boston. It's called a conspiracy.
pilib04 | Mar 13, 2013, 11:38 AM EDT
Absolutely scandalous that this monster is helping select the next Pope!
Butch1 | Mar 13, 2013, 11:25 AM EDT
This man should be in prison for his involvement in this crime. He should NOT be helping in the choosing of the next pope as well, in my opinion. The man has no morals and obviously wouldn't recognize a good pope from a bad one.
Frosty38 | Mar 13, 2013, 09:41 AM EDT
All this just blows my mind. I was born and raised in a city that had 6 RC Churches and we did not have this
BoysofBantry | Mar 13, 2013, 09:15 AM EDT
A number of those Cardinals from the States attending the Conclave in Rome helped pedophiles evade prosecution, hid pedophiles hide away in other parishes, denied that sexual abuse took place, and destroyed documents which verified such abuses. Other Cardinals objected to women having the right to choose an abortion regardless of the circumstances of the pregnancy, and others carried out their on sexual pleasures with seminarians while expressing hostility and disgust with those seeking same sex marriages. Yet others reside in residences that are as grand as the Trump Towers. These are the characters that will vote for a new Pope to lead that decaying church.