CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly
by GUSTAVO ARELLANO
The Oct. 11 release by the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles of records on 176 suspected child-raping priests adds new evidence that church officials played hide-the-pedophile for decades.
Instead of disclosing psychological reports and other crucial personnel information, Cardinal Roger Mahony released only one-page summaries on each priest. Even heavily redacted, the documents provide further graphic proof that Orange County Catholic Church officials accepted, tolerated and sometimes conspired to hide known pedophiles before OC split off to form its own diocese in 1976. Here are six of the worst LA/OC cases:
MICHAEL BUCKLEY In 1959, a father of two boys complained to the Los Angeles archdiocese that Buckley -- then working at Sacred Heart Church in Los Angeles -- flashed his sons. Six years later, a parishioner sent an anonymous letter to church officials requesting that they defrock Buckley because of his "moral fitness." Then-Cardinal James McIntyre instead made Buckley a hospital chaplain in Torrance and Lynwood until 1971, when Buckley took up residence at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Santa Ana. There, Buckley is accused of molesting at least eight boys.
LYNN CAFFOE His report shows parents at St. Callistus in Garden Grove complained in 1975 that Caffoe committed "a boundary violation" with altar boys. Officials transferred Caffoe to Los Angeles, where fellow priests found an undated videotape of Caffoe engaging in "improper behavior with several high school boys." A complaint was also lodged with the Huntington Beach Police Department in 1994. Detectives never followed up. Caffoe's whereabouts are unknown.