(Cross-posted at My Left Wing .)
A Los Angeles Times study released today points up the huge gulf between the Catholic Church's official line on child-abuse scandals and the reality of its efforts to cover them up.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony acknowledged to Los Angeles Catholics in his 2004 "Report to the People of God" that he left five priests in ministry despite complaints that they had molested children.
But a Times analysis of church records released since then shows that he left 11 other priests in ministry for periods up to 13 years after parishioners raised concerns about inappropriate behavior with children.
Seven of these 11 cases were not detailed in the People of God report. The other four were mentioned incompletely; the report said they were removed when complaints were lodged but did not disclose that the Los Angeles Archdiocese had received earlier reports of misconduct. [emphasis added]
Question: Wouldn't an average citizen who consistently and repeatedly covered up for the felonious activity of other felons, thereby putting at risk more people who could be victimized by these same felons, be considered a felon himself? Wouldn't it be a quick trip to the Graybar Hotel for such a criminal conspirator?
Just askin'.
Mahony and the rest of the Catholic Church establishment - up to and definitely including now-Pope Benedict, formerly Cardinal Ratzinger - need to immediately come clean on the matter of child abuse and child abusers within the ranks of the clergy.
The Times report verifies what has long been suspected: that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles covered up the activities of serial child abusers, and not only did not immediately terminate the employ of those involved and turn them over to law-enforcement authorities, but continued to employ them in pastoral positions without warning parishioners.
The Times' analysis found that although the report included detailed accounts of mistakes involving Michael Baker, Gerald Fessard, Carlos Rodriguez, Carl Sutphin and Michael Wempe -- priests whose alleged sexual misconduct had already been written about in The Times -- it left out or abridged details of other potentially embarrassing cases that had not been widely publicized. [emphasis added]
- in other words, it only acknowledged in the report what it knew had already been acknowledged in the news media, and it tried to hide the rest. Sadly, this despicably deceptive behavior is lauded by the attorney for the Archdiocese:
"He [Mahony] ultimately got to the point where he is now, which we believe is one of the nation's leaders in how to deal with the problem on a large scale," [J. Michael] Hennigan said. [emphasis added]
Until the Catholic Church as an institution comes clean about its role in the multitude of child-abuse scandals in its past, it is absurd for the Church to claim a position of moral authority on any issue, from immigration to birth control.
Catholic dogma holds that certain sins are unforgivable. The Church's continued stonewalling and outright deception regarding child abuse may be one of those sins.