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	" Not Meant to Be Public" Cardinal Mahony Tells Priests He Was Assaulted by Man Angry over Sex-Abuse Scandals, but Police Have No Record of the Incident California Catholic Daily December 7, 2007 http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=c1e72112-2f9b-47db-8b89-ab9968c3605b Cardinal Roger Mahony told a conference of priests he was attacked and knocked to the ground by a man angry about the sexual abuse scandal, the Dec. 4 Los Angeles Daily News reported. According to Father Sal Pilato, a high school principal who attended the October conference during which Mahony reportedly made the comments, the cardinal said the attack occurred in July near Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles. The cardinal said he was dropping off letters at a mailbox when a man recognized him, began shouting expletives and knocked him to the ground. "It was shocking because it was an act of violence and it was someone we know and respect," Father Pilato told the Daily News Cardinal Mahony reportedly was telling the priests they all had a price to pay for sexual abuses perpetrated by other clergy. He relayed the story of the assault as an example of the personal toll he's endured, several priests said. Carolina Guevara, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles archdiocese, did not confirm the report. "Whatever conversation might have taken place between the priests and their bishop was a private conversation and not meant to be public," she said. Victims of sexual abuse and their attorneys had accused Cardinal Mahony of moving sexually abusive priests to different parishes and blocking efforts in court to expose them. The archdiocese has agreed to two legal settlements with victims of alleged sexual abuse, one costing $660 million, and another costing $114 million. The combined sum is the largest settlement for sexual abuse paid by any archdiocese in the country. "If this happened, we feel sorry for Mahony as we do anyone who's been assaulted in any way," commented Barbara Blaine, national president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Cardinal Mahony apparently did not report the assault to police. Los Angeles Police Department officials said they were unaware of any such incident.
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