BishopAccountability.org
	Another Cardinal, Same Questions Boston Herald July 21, 2007 http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=1012546&srvc=home That huge pre-trial settlement of alleged priest abuse cases in Los Angeles, though at long last putting money in the hands of 508 wounded families, is grossly unsatisfactory for both the church and its members. It leaves unanswered the question, what did Cardinal Roger Mahony know about priests who were molesting young people and what did he do about it? Knowing the truth is absolutely essential, and more important than money, for any hope of rebuilding crippled lives and needed trust. Cardinal Mahony has admitted that he left five priests in the ministry despite complaints. The Los Angeles Times counted 16 such instances. If experience elsewhere is any guide, this is likely the tip of the iceberg. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston had to resign in 2002 after revelations that he had shifted scores of offending parish priests to different parishes (sometimes after often-futile treatment for pedophilia). This was reprehensible because parents who accepted legal settlements in return for silence were promised that the priest would have no further contact with young people. The facts of the Los Angeles horror were about to come out. The cardinal would have had to testify in the first of 20 suits coming to trial, something he had been able to avoid by settling (for $114 million, along with religious orders not under his control) 86 earlier cases. Along with the orders, the cardinal has agreed to pay $660 million to the 508 plaintiffs, putting the total bill on the far side of three-quarters of a billion dollars. Some church files are to be turned over to a retired judge, who will decide what to make public. Incredibly, the cardinal is still stonewalling, claiming that he doesn't have to turn over some files. The district attorney says he has an active criminal investigation under way, but what he can do will depend on what documents he can get. Many cases are beyond the statute of limitations - as they were here. The importance of the documents, whatever their age, lies in the truths they contain. Cardinal Mahony said recently, "I don't know what to do next."It's simple, Your Eminence: Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, regardless of what it means for your career.
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