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	Society Glad Mahony Has Apologized By George Johnson Ventura County Star August 24, 2007 http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/aug/24/society-glad-mahony-has-apologized/ California — As parishioners of Santa Clara Parish in Oxnard and also as members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, we are relieved and pleased that a definitive settlement for the victims of the sexual abuse scandals in our archdiocese has been reached. While no amount of money can heal the wounds of such ill use (especially during childhood), the fact that Cardinal Roger Mahony has brought to a close this sorry chapter in our church's history is a significant contribution to the healing of all involved. We applaud most of all the heartfelt apologies extended by our cardinal to these victims. While for some victims this is "too little too late," it is part of a large effort to bring about mutual forgiveness and reconciliation in our church community — past and present. We also applaud the creation and implementation of archdiocesan programs to protect all minors from any possible future abuse. Any parishioner, parent or guardian can attend the VIRTUS sessions (aka "Protecting God's Children"), which promote awareness of signs of abuse in our children. This program is also designed to alert responsible adults to possible predators. The archdiocese also now requires fingerprinting of all church employees, teachers and volunteers who might have access to children at any parish school or other facility. Criminal background checks are performed on all these people before they are permitted to work with or around our children. For the children, there is a new program called "Good Touch, Bad Touch" to educate them about any activity with adults that may be inappropriate. It is available through all Catholic schools and all religious education programs in the archdiocese. At this point in our history, our archdiocese is now one of the safest and most protective places for kids in the nation. Even though a very small fraction of the clergy has not (in the past) acted in accordance with the highest moral and ethical standards demanded by their priestly vocations, we, the body of Christ, through the eyes of faith, still remain "one holy catholic and apostolic church" founded and maintained by our Good Shepherd, Jesus, the Christ. We remain faithfully in Jesus' love. — George Johnson is president of the board of directors of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Santa Clara Parish Conference, Oxnard.
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