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	Lawyer: LA Can't Try Cardinal Lawyer Says Only Mexican Court Can Rule on Sex Abuse Suit Associated Press, carried in Dallas Morning News February 26, 2007 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/mexico/stories/DN-cardinal_26int.ART.State.Edition1.20400a2.html Mexico City — A Los Angeles court has no legal right to try Mexico's most prominent cardinal for complicity in the alleged rape of a child by a Mexican priest, the cardinal's lawyer said Sunday. Bernardo Fernandez, who represents Cardinal Norberto Rivera, said only a Mexican court has the authority to rule on the lawsuit. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in September, Joaquin Aguilar Mendez alleges he was raped by priest Nicolas Aguilar in Mexico City in 1994 when he was 12 years old. The alleged rape came after the priest had been charged with 19 felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child in California. The suit alleges that Cardinal Rivera conspired with Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony to protect Father Aguilar. It accuses the two cardinals of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy and sexual battery, and charges Father Aguilar with sexual battery. Proponents of the suit argue that the case should involve the Los Angeles court because it is a cross-border issue involving church officials from both countries. On Sunday, Mr. Fernandez denied that Cardinal Rivera helped Father Aguilar return to Mexico after his nine-month stint as a priest in Los Angeles in 1988. "Cardinal Norberto Rivera has never hidden Father Aguilar from justice," Mr. Fernandez said, adding that Father Aguilar did not work under Cardinal Rivera's charge following his return to Mexico. Cardinal Rivera refused to talk to the media. Church officials in Los Angeles have denounced the legal action, saying it is baseless. The legal action is backed by the Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. As many as 60 accusers from Mexico and the U.S. have come forward with allegations against Father Aguilar, the suit says.
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