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	Mexican Roman Catholics Express Support for Cardinal Facing US Lawsuit Associated Press, carried in Live-PR August 13, 2007 http://www.live-pr.com/en/mexican-roman-catholics-express-support-r18252.htm Mexico City (AP) - Roman Catholic activists came out Sunday to support Mexico's most prominent cardinal who was deposed last week in a U.S. lawsuit accusing him of complicity in the alleged rape of a child by a Mexican priest. «Catholic church groups believe in the Cardinal's innocence,» read a placard held by one supporter at Sunday's Mass at Mexico City's Cathedral. Cardinal Norberto Rivera thanked the supporters at the end of Mass and told worshippers: «Don't be afraid my little flock,» according to the Reforma newspaper's Web site. 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 already had been charged with 19 felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child in California. The suit alleges that Rivera conspired with Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony to protect Rev. Aguilar. Rivera's lawyers have argued the case, which involves Mexican clergy and an alleged Mexican victim, should not be handled by a U.S. court.
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