By Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
July 16, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/us/16cnd-abuse.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
A day after agreeing to a record-breaking $660 million settlement with 508 people who said they were sexually abused by clergy members in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony apologized this afternoon for "this horrible sin and crime" and said he hoped the settlement would bring a "final resolution."
Four years of legal combat ended in a settlement agreement late Saturday night — just two days before the Monday start of a trial in which Cardinal Mahony would have been forced to testify.
The settlement is the largest yet in any Catholic diocese — amounting to about $1.3 million per person involved. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States has paid more than $2 billion in settlements and legal judgments to victims of sexual abuse and their families.
Attorneys for the archdiocese and the plaintiffs said they are still negotiating details, but that they expect to present an agreement for approval to the judge in the trial on Monday morning.
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| Cardinal Roger Mahony apologized for “this horrible sin and crime” and said he hoped the $660 million settlement would bring a “final resolution.” Photo by Monica Almeida |
Some Roman Catholic parishioners in Los Angeles said that they were eager to see the victims compensated, but that the drawn-out legal battle had soured them on Cardinal Mahony's leadership.
"I don't think they're getting enough money. There's no amount that can compensate them," said Cheryl Ortega, 59, a parishioner at Our Mother of Good Counsel church, in Los Feliz.
Steve Mills, 52, a parishioner there for 25 years, said he was appalled that the negotiations took so long and cost the archdiocese so much money that could have been used to help the poor or build schools.
"My opinion of the cardinal has gone down because of all this," Mr. Mills said. "And it seems with everybody I talk to this is true."
Cardinal Mahony said that $250 million would be paid by the archdiocese, $227 million by insurers and $60 million by religious orders whose priests and brothers are accused of perpetrating some of the abuse. He said the remainder, $123 million, would come from "other sources," including religious orders "not yet participating" in the settlement.
He said that to pay for the settlement, the archdiocese would sell some properties, liquidate some investments and borrow some money. He said the archdiocese would not need to end any "core" functions, or to sell any parish properties or schools.
The size of the settlement may reflect the archdiocese's tremendous financial risk had it taken these cases to trial, said Carl Tobias, the Williams Professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, in Virginia.
"California judges and juries are more used to big settlements, or big verdicts," he said. "When the defendants are more concerned about their exposure, there is more willingness to pay more in a settlement."
People in Los Angeles who contended they were sexually abused said they were eager to move on, but had some misgivings because they believe that Cardinal Mahony and other church leaders who were culpable would likely never be held personally accountable.
Tony Almeida, a Los Angeles firefighter, said he had been emotionally preparing himself to testify at the trial that was to open Monday that the Rev. Clinton Hagenbach repeatedly molested him and other altar boys, and once pinned him down and raped him. Mr. Almeida, who is 44, said he attributes his alcoholism, aggression, depression and two broken marriages, in part, to the abuse and the years of suppressing the memories.
"My life is just a mess. With therapy, I think I'm doing a little better. This settlement is not going to fix everything, I understand that," he said, but added, "It is a compensation for what I've gone through. But I still feel the church needs to be held accountable for what they've done to me, and my life."
He said he was relieved that he would not have to testify in court, because even the three days of giving depositions — the first time he had to recount details of the abuse in public — caused his blood pressure to spike so high he had to take a leave from work.
"I could have gone to trial and won more money. But to tell you the truth, just going through the depositions was hard enough for me," he said. "I'm tired of the pain and I want to go on with my life."
John Manly, a lawyer for 50 of the plaintiffs in the case, said they had been forced to use the civil courts to expose sexual predators and call church officials to account because the criminal justice system had failed.
"I think the question people need to ask themselves is how can Roger Mahony pay three-quarters of a billion for criminal acts, and essentially walk free?" Mr. Manly said. "Especially since it's other people's money, and he has clearly been give special treatment by law enforcement and the power structure in L.A. When is there going to be some accountability, and if not, why?"
Cardinal Mahony said at a news conference this afternoon, "Yes, I've made mistakes."
"But I didn't know," he said, that the treatment programs where he sent some predatory priests, before returning them to ministry, were not effective.
He said to the victims that he wished he could restore their lives to where they were before the abuse occurred. "Your life, I wish, were like a VHS tape" that could be rewound, he said.
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