BishopAccountability.org
	Cardinal in Mexico Responds to Lawsuit Filed against Him Fresno Bee [California] February 22, 2007 http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/31259.html A Roman Catholic cardinal in Mexico responded to a lawsuit filed against him, saying he warned Cardinal Roger Mahony 20 years ago about a priest who was later charged with molesting eight boys. In a declaration filed recently, Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Tehuacan, Mexico, said he sent a letter to Mahony in 1987 suggesting the Rev. Nicolas Aguilar had "homosexual problems." "I cautioned that the motivation for Fr. Aguilar's trip to Los Angeles was 'family and health reasons,'" Rivera said in his declaration. "The phrase 'family and health reasons' was used within the church to warn that a priest suffers from some sort of problem." Tod Tamberg, spokesman for Mahony, said the cardinal never received a letter from Rivera. "We've said this many times before, and Cardinal Rivera may very well have sent a letter, but nobody received it," Tamberg said. Rivera's declaration was in response to a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was abused in 1997 in Mexico at age 13. The abuse occurred after Aguilar returned to his job with the Diocese of Tehuacan following similar accusations while working in Los Angeles for a year, according to the suit. The lawsuit names Rivera and Mahony and accused them of conspiring to conceal the priest's conduct. Aguilar also has been charged with 19 felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child in California. He is a fugitive and his whereabouts are unknown.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.