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Cardinal Mahony, Police Ask For Extradition Of Fugitive Priest NBC4.TV LOS ANGELES -- Glendale police have asked the district attorney's office to seek the extradition of a fugitive priest accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy. Prosecutors believe Father Tilak Jayawardene returned to his native Sri Lanka after he was asked to surrender to police in December 1990, a district attorney's office spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times. Cardinal Roger Mahony said he recently wrote to church officials in Sri Lanka asking they they return the priest to Los Angeles, The Times reported. Barbara Moore, chief of the district attorney's extradition unit, said that Glendale police made the request for the priest's extradition on May 9 after The Times questioned police about their efforts to locate the fugitive. Jayawardene worked at Incarnation Church in Glendale as associate pastor from 1987 to December 1990, when he disappeared amid a police investigation, The Times reported. Ex-Altar Boy Alleges Priest Abused Him By Glenn F. Bunting and Richard Winton A former altar boy alleged in court papers filed Monday that he was molested at a Van Nuys church by Father Michael Stephen Baker, bringing to three the number of victims who say they were abused after the priest admitted engaging in sexual misconduct to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. The lawsuit alleges that Baker abused at least a dozen young boys between 1975 and 1999. The complaint, filed under a federal racketeering law, states that Mahony and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles failed to keep Baker away from children after his admission, did not report the abuse to authorities and paid money to victims to keep the misconduct secret. "Cardinal Roger Mahony belongs in prison for aiding and abetting Michael Baker, for protecting a pedophile priest," attorney Jeffrey Anderson told reporters outside the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse after filing the suit. "The deception has to end.... We have come forward to say: no more secrets, no more crimes." Mahony called the racketeering suit "baseless and irresponsible" in a statement released Monday. "I will not let these claims distract me from continuing to focus all of my energies on ... reaching out to victims of clergy abuse and their families, assisting with their spiritual and emotional healing, and expanding our programs to protect children throughout the archdiocese," the statement said. Baker and his attorney, Donald Steier, could not be reached for comment Monday. In previous interviews, Baker acknowledged telling Mahony in a 1986 meeting that he had abused "two or three" children. Baker said the cardinal did not press him for details and he did not provide any. The Times reported last week that Mahony transferred Baker to nine parishes after learning about the priest's history of sex abuse and later approved a secret $1.3-million settlement to two men. The victims' attorney, Lynne M. Cadigan of Tucson, said the archdiocese insisted on a strict confidentiality clause. Mahony arranged for Baker to quietly retire from the priesthood in late 2000 without notifying law enforcement authorities or informing parishioners about the alleged abuses. The two victims, who are brothers in their 20s now living in Mexico, alleged in a letter of complaint to the archdiocese that they had been repeatedly molested by Baker over 15 years. The Times does not identify victims of sexual abuse without their consent. The third purported victim to emerge since Mahony learned of Baker's abuse is identified in the lawsuit only as "John Doe 53." He was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family and served as an altar boy at St. Elisabeth parish in Van Nuys, according to the suit. The abuse began in 1990 when the altar boy was 12 or 13 years old and continued for about three years, said attorney Anderson. "This happened after Baker's cozy chat with Mahony," Anderson said. "What did [Mahony] do with that? Nothing.... All of these victims suffered in secrecy, silence and sham." Archdiocese records show that Baker lived at St. Elisabeth from 1988 to 1991. The pastor at the time, Father Paul Hruby, said he knew of no allegations against Baker of sexual abuse during Baker's time there. Hruby declined to say whether archdiocese officials informed him of Baker's history when the priest was assigned to the Van Nuys parish. Monday's lawsuit was filed on behalf of the former altar boy and three other men. One of the four men appeared at the press conference Monday. Matt Severson, 34, of West Hollywood claimed that Baker abused him for a decade, beginning in 1976 when he was 9. "I did not have a voice at that time," Severson said. "I was too embarrassed to tell anyone. I felt great humiliation and pain." Severson, called "John Doe 50" in the lawsuit, said he came forward to "reclaim some of the power that was taken away from me as a child.... I want an apology, not just for me but for my family. My family was very devastated." The suit is the second in which Anderson has cited racketeering laws against Mahony and the archdiocese. He has also sued under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act on behalf of alleged victims of Father Carl Sutphin, an associate pastor at the new downtown cathedral until his recent removal from the ministry. Anderson alleges that Mahony's actions amount to a pattern of illegal activity. RICO lawsuits allow damage awards to be tripled. Mahony said last week he will turn over records to the district attorney's office on the Baker case and all others, as necessary. Regarding Baker's files, Mahony said, "We told [LAPD detectives] whatever they wanted, they could have." In response to the story in The Times last week, Los Angeles County District Atty. Steve Cooley warned the cardinal that he would seek a grand jury investigation unless the Los Angeles archdiocese turned over all documents related to allegations of sexual abuse by priests. Times staff writer Beth Shuster contributed to this report. Cardinal Mahony Named In Sex Abuse Lawsuit NBC4.TV LOS ANGELES -- A racketeering lawsuit filed Monday accuses Cardinal Roger Mahony of protecting a child-molesting priest who spent more than a dozen years in the nation's largest archdiocese. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed in state court and cites federal laws involving conspiracy in a criminal enterprise. Mahony "belongs in prison for aiding and abetting Michael Baker, for protecting a pedophile priest," said attorney Jeffrey Anderson, who filed the suit on behalf of four alleged victims. "The deception has to end." Matt Severson, 34, (pictured left) of Los Angeles, alleges that Baker abused him for a decade, beginning in 1976 when he was 9 years old. He did not come forward then because he felt "I did not have a voice at that time," Severson said at a news conference. "I was too embarrassed to tell anyone. I felt great humiliation and pain." In a statement, Mahony called the lawsuit claims "baseless and irresponsible." "I will let the legal system address the technical issues surrounding these claims. I am confident that they will be resolved appropriately," he said. Mahony also pledged to continue cooperating with law enforcement agencies, the statement said. Baker, 54, is one of several former priests being investigated by police amid accusations that he molested at least nine youths beginning in 1976. Two men who claim they were sexually abused as children by Baker from 1984 to 1999 later agreed to a $1.3 million settlement with the archdiocese. Baker told the Los Angeles Times that in December 1986 he met with Mahony and reported he had engaged in sexual misconduct with children. Baker alleges that Mahony never asked for specifics and appeared willing to let him remain in the priesthood. "I told Mahony I had a problem," Baker said. "He was very solicitous and understanding. I was glad I brought it up." Baker continued to have access to children over the next 14 years while he was assigned to nine parishes around Los Angeles, the newspaper said. He was asked to retire in late 2000. Mahony said last month that there were few solutions for dealing with Baker in 1986 because the allegations were never proved. "Our biggest problem was that ... he wasn't found guilty of a criminal act," Mahony said. The suit named Mahony individually and in his official role as head of the archdiocese. It is the latest in a series filed by Anderson and other attorneys against U.S. Roman Catholic dioceses this year in connection with an ongoing sex-abuse scandal. The federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act originally was aimed at organized crime but includes provisions for civil cases when someone is harmed by a "pattern" of illegal activity. RICO lawsuits allow damage awards to be tripled. Also Monday, a former priest at a Roman Catholic church in Fremont pleaded innocent in Alameda County Superior Court to charges of unlawful sexual conduct and sexual penetration with a child under age 14. Stephen M. Kiesle, 55, once worked at the now-closed Santa Paula Catholic Church, the same church where the Rev. Robert Freitas allegedly molested a boy in 1979. Two alleged victims, now in their 40s, have told Fremont police Kiesle molested them several times in the early 1970s. During the investigation, a woman came forward and alleged similar abuse. Mahony Vows to Open Files to Authorities By Beth Shuster and Richard Winton One day after being threatened with a grand jury investigation, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony pledged Friday to make the Roman Catholic Archdiocese's files on priestly abuse available to the district attorney's office. Mahony said in an interview Friday he would turn over documents that could include letters, notes of meetings and other correspondence. He said they also would be made available to local law enforcement agencies if they require them. "We want every single thing out, open and dealt with, period," Mahony said. "The last thing I want is this going on for months and months." Mahony said he has given the Los Angeles Police Department, the county Sheriff's Department and other agencies the names, addresses and other information that they have requested regarding priests alleged to have abused minors. Copies of that information will be provided to the district attorney, he said. Additionally, Mahony said he would work with the district attorney's office to ask priests accused of abusing minors for authorization to release their confidential medical and psychological records. On Thursday, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley sent the cardinal a letter saying that law enforcement authorities need written documentation of abuse cases and that their investigations had been hampered without it. Moreover, Cooley warned the cardinal that he could face a grand jury investigation over his failure to make those documents available. Meanwhile, in a development that underscored philosophical differences on priestly abuse between the Vatican and American Catholics, a Vatican official said in an article to be published today that bishops should avoid telling congregations their parish priests sexually abused someone if the bishops believe the priests will not abuse again. In an article in the influential Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica, which often reflects Vatican thinking, the Rev. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a Vatican appeals court judge, also said church leaders have no legal or moral responsibilities if such abuse does occur. Ghirlanda insisted that church leaders must protect the "good name" of their priests and that only a guilty cleric truly is responsible for his actions. "From a canon law perspective, the bishop and the superior are neither morally nor judicially responsible for the acts committed by one of their clergy," said Ghirlanda, dean of canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. In Los Angeles, Cooley released a written statement Friday saying he was encouraged by Mahony's promise of cooperation in turning over documents. But he appeared to take note of a sticking point between the district attorney and the cardinal. Cooley says the archdiocese must report suspected abuse to the law enforcement agency where the alleged crime occurred, while Mahony has worked primarily with Los Angeles Police Department detectives. Those LAPD investigators have been the liaison between Mahony and other law enforcement agencies. Cooley's statement said, "We urge Cardinal Mahony and his advisors" to follow the district attorney's "direction as to how the requested information should be provided to the appropriate law enforcement agency." Joe Scott, Cooley's director of communications, said, "If he sends a truck [of documents] down here, we're not going to open the boxes; we're going to send them to the appropriate law enforcement agency as the district attorney's May 16 letter made elaborately clear." Mahony said the LAPD's role as liaison between the church and other agencies has worked well, particularly in cases where the archdiocese does not know exactly where an alleged crime occurred. But he said he would cooperate with law enforcement authorities and that he has directed "all representatives and personnel of the archdiocese to continue to cooperate fully" with all civil authorities. He said he would send backup copies to Cooley's office. Cmdr. Gary Brennan confirmed Thursday that some archdiocesan documentation has been provided to the LAPD. County Sheriff Lee Baca said he was unsure whether the archdiocese is cooperating fully with his detectives. "You never know" if detectives are getting all the information from the church files, Baca said. "People could say on one hand they are providing all the information they have," but detectives don't know "until perhaps face to face, investigator to source ... when they say: 'May I inspect your files?'" Cooley has said his staff decided last week to urge the cardinal to provide written materials to police agencies, but a Times story on former priest Michael Baker stepped up that request. The Times reported Thursday that Baker told Mahony in 1986 that he molested young boys, but the cardinal reassigned him to parishes where he allegedly continued his sexual abuse of minors for more than a decade. Mahony in 2000 approved a secret $1.3-million payment to alleged victims and arranged for Baker to quietly retire from the archdiocese. Mahony earlier this week faxed a letter to 1,200 priests in the archdiocese stating that he mishandled the Baker case and that he assumed full responsibility. Baker is one of more than 30 current or former archdiocesan priests under investigation by local law enforcement authorities. Mahony said he has files containing one or two pages and others that are far more detailed, including cases such as those of Baker and Michael Wempe, a former chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who was forced to resign by Mahony because of prior abuse allegations. "We told [the LAPD detectives] whatever they wanted, they could have" in the Baker case, Mahony said. Last month, Mahony and the archdiocese were sued under a federal racketeering law typically used to dismantle organized crime operations. In two lawsuits, attorneys alleged Mahony protected abusive priests as head of the archdiocese, a pattern of behavior that the lawyers said constitutes a criminal enterprise. Cooley's letter earlier this week is the toughest yet from local law enforcement. Prosecutors in two states have impaneled grand juries while others have made similar demands for documents. Victims rights groups and attorneys representing victims say they believe each diocese maintains considerable files on suspect priests. Report: Priest Dismissed From L.A. Archdiocese NBC4.TV LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Archdiocese knew for three decades about sexual misconduct allegations against a priest who recently became the seventh clergyman dismissed from the archdiocese for alleged abuse, it was reported Saturday. The Rev. G. Neville Rucker, retired since 1987, was accused of molesting two 9-year-old girls at St. Anthony parish in El Segundo during the 1960s, according to a police report and court records cited by the Los Angeles Times. At the time, Rucker denied any misconduct at the church, where he served as associate pastor from (1962-67). Then-Bishop Timothy Manning persuaded the mother of one of the girls not to press criminal charges and asked her to let the church deal with the situation, police reports said. Last month, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony ordered Rucker to permanently leave the ministry under his zero-tolerance policy for clerics accused of sexual abuse that was included in a $5.2 million lawsuit settlement last year. Rucker had been moved to four other parishes before becoming pastor in 1979 at Corpus Christi church in Pacific Palisades, where he had lived until his April 23 removal. Tod Tamberg, an archdiocese spokesman, said no other sexual abuse allegations had been received about the priest. Rucker now lives at Nazareth House, an assisted-living facility for priests in West Los Angeles. He was not immediately available for comment Saturday at the facility. One of the alleged victims filed suit against the archdiocese and Rucker in 1993, claiming she suffered childhood sexual abuse between June 1966 and May 1967. Her suit stated her memory of the acts had been suppressed until 1991, when another alleged victim of Rucker told her of a similar experience. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the archdiocese from the case in July 1994, citing the statute of limitations. Rucker settled months later, paying $20,000 without acknowledging wrongdoing. Rucker's attorney argued that the woman had believed false memories created by a therapist. Mahony has ousted five retired priests from the ministry since February. The cardinal also has removed two active priests. A separate report Saturday said the Catholic Diocese of Orange allowed a priest to remain at his parish in Huntington Beach for at least two years after learning he'd paid money to settle a charge of sexual molestation. Diocese officials told the Orange County Register they'd been informed in 1995 of the allegations made against the Rev. Gus Krumm. They said they were also told of the settlement in 1996. But the officials said the payment of an undisclosed sum did not include any admission of guilt. "There are sometimes settlements made for allegations that aren't true," >said Maria Schinderle, a diocese spokeswoman. Krumm now serves as head pastor of the Ascension Catholic Church in Portland, Ore. He declined to discuss the accusations with the Register and was not immediately available for comment Saturday. "We would not have anyone with credible accusations against them serve in public ministry," said Bud Bunce, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Portland. Priest's Abuse Case Dates to '67 By Richard Winton and Beth Shuster The Los Angeles Archdiocese knew for three decades about 1967 child abuse accusations against Father G. Neville Rucker, a retired priest living at Corpus Christi church in Pacific Palisades until his April 23 removal. Rucker was ordered to move from the Corpus Christi rectory and permanently leave the ministry as Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and other prelates met last month at the Vatican to discuss the growing sex abuse crisis. Rucker is last of the seven Los Angeles Archdiocese priests forced out of the ministry this year after Mahony began enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for clerics accused of sexual abuse. The policy was included in a $5.2-million lawsuit settlement last year involving the Orange and Los Angeles dioceses. The 82-year-old priest was accused of molesting two 9-year-old girls at St. Anthony parish in El Segundo during the 1960s, according to a police report and court records. Rucker at the time denied any misconduct at the church, where he served as associate pastor from 1962 to 1967. He did not respond to requests for an interview. Rucker's forced departure from Corpus Christi came 35 years after Mahony's predecessor, then-Bishop Timothy Manning, persuaded the mother of one of the El Segundo girls not to press criminal charges. Manning asked the woman to let the church deal with Rucker, according to police reports. The archdiocese moved Rucker to four other parishes before he was made pastor at Corpus Christi in 1979. He was allowed to live there and continue to live there after his retirement in 1987. Corpus Christi, like St. Anthony and three of the other parishes where he worked, operates its own elementary school. Lawsuit Filed Against Archdiocese in 1993 The alleged victim whose mother was persuaded against pursuing criminal charges against Rucker filed a lawsuit against the archdiocese in 1993, alleging childhood sexual abuse and negligence. Two years later, the priest settled the lawsuit with a confidential $20,000 payment. The woman, now 44, is angry that parishioners of the Pacific Palisades church were never told of the accusations or the settlement. "I put the archdiocese on notice that he was living at a parish with a school," said the woman, who lives in Northern California. The Times does not identify victims of alleged sexual abuse without their permission. "Everyone at that parish should have been told," the woman said. She filed the lawsuit, she said, after archdiocese officials "told me to keep my mouth shut" when she asked that church members be warned about Rucker. "I was incensed," the woman said. Tod Tamberg, archdiocese spokesman, confirmed the 1967 police investigation of Rucker. "There were no allegations in years following that investigation. He was living in retirement at Corpus Christi when he left," Tamberg said in a statement. Rucker now lives at Nazareth House, an assisted-living facility for priests in West Los Angeles. He is one of five retired priests ousted from the ministry by Mahony since February. The cardinal also removed two active priests, the Rev. Michael Wempe, who was working as the chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the Rev. Carl Sutphin, associate pastor of the new downtown Los Angeles cathedral. Wempe also lived at a parish that operates a school. The allegations against Rucker are contained in a 1967 El Segundo police report. Rucker told police he did nothing wrong, the report said, and the girl denied being molested. But days later, the girl's mother said her daughter told her, "Father Rucker has been touching me where he should not," according to the police report. Rather than press charges against Rucker, the mother told police she had spoken to Bishop Manning, who later became Los Angeles' cardinal, and "he would like the church to take care of the matter, and he would see that it was done properly," the police report said. The police report includes the woman's signed refusal to file charges. "I just want the father helped and feel the church can best do it," the mother wrote. An unidentified parent in the same 1967 police report alleged that a daughter of hers was molested by Rucker. That second girl told detectives that Rucker "looks away and talks about things as if he is not doing it," according to the police report. That girl also told police she saw another youngster molested--identifying the girl who years later sued the priest. Two other girls told police the second girl was prone to "to make up stories," the report said. El Segundo police said they cannot determine the outcome of the other allegations. Four days after police closed the case, the archdiocese transferred Rucker to St. Teresa of Avila in Los Angeles. He was transferred seven months later to Holy Trinity in Los Angeles and then to Holy Cross church in September 1968. He went on to St. Agatha church in Los Angeles in July 1970. In 1979, the Iowa native became pastor at Corpus Christi. Judge Cited Statute of Limitations Rucker was known among members of the wealthy Pacific Palisades parish for his love of music. He helped persuade a donor to buy an expensive church organ. He was sued, along with the archdiocese, in 1993 by the woman who alleged that he had molested her between June 1966 and May 1967. In the lawsuit, she said her memory of events had been suppressed until 1991, when another alleged victim of Rucker told her of a similar experience. The woman's attorney in a court filing warned the archdiocese that Rucker was living a parish with a school. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the case against the archdiocese in July 1994, citing the statute of limitations. Rucker's attorney denied the allegations and argued that the woman was suffering from false memories created by a therapist. Rucker later settled his part of the lawsuit in October 1994, paying $20,000 without acknowledging any misconduct, according to those familiar with the settlement. Grand Jury for Abuse Cases Editorial It has finally come to this: A grand jury needs to investigate Catholic priests' abuse of minors in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Whenever an adult molests a child, it's a matter for law enforcement and civil society--whether the crime occurs at a soccer field, a school or a seminary. Anyone who can help in the investigation has a moral and legal responsibility to cooperate promptly and fully. Unfortunately, neither Catholic parishioners nor the police nor the public can trust that the information drip, drip, dripping out of Cardinal Roger Mahony's office is accurate or complete. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury could compel Mahony and other officials in the Los Angeles Archdiocese to disclose the names of every last priest accused of molestation and to detail the allegations under oath, except when the information was divulged in the confessional. By requiring the church to turn over documents, including personnel files, the jury could cut through the archdiocese's apparent stalling and obfuscation. In doing so, it should be able to find out how many children were hurt by church officials' reassignment of accused offenders to other parishes. In an April 8 letter, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley asked for Mahony's "personal assurance" that all known or reasonably suspected instances of child abuse had been reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. In another letter, sent Thursday, Cooley added this warning: "Nothing short of a full accounting with written documentation is acceptable. If it is not forthcoming, the grand jury will be utilized to obtain it." In Thursday's Times, staff writer Glenn F. Bunting detailed the story of a priest accused of abusing at least nine children over the years. Mahony first heard of the case in 1986, knew that the abuse continued over the years and arranged for a secret $1.3-million payout to victims and the priest's retirement in 2000. But he reported the incident to police only weeks ago, in March, as public and law enforcement pressure mounted. At this point, even if Mahony satisfies the district attorney's office that the archdiocese has been straightforward, the public will harbor doubts. A grand jury investigation is the best way to assure that the archdiocese has stopped stonewalling. Mahony Pledges To Turn Over Abuse Documents To DA May 17, 2002 LOS ANGELES -- Cardinal Roger Mahony says he will turn over to the district attorney's office all documents related to allegations of child abuse by priests in the Los Angeles archdiocese. The pledge comes a day after District Attorney Steve Cooley warned Mahony he would resort to a grand jury investigation in order to obtain full cooperation from the archdiocese. The archdiocese says Mahony telephoned the district attorney's office today and reaffirmed his commitment to working with law enforcement officials. A statement from the archdiocese says Mahony has pledged "to make available to the district attorney all documents related to any known or suspected instances of child abuse." The statement indicated that all documents would be delivered to the district attorney's office next week. Victims of past abuse responded to Mahony's move by saying it's about time. "This is not about sin, and it is not about religion, it's about crime and it needs to stop," said sex abuse victim Mary Grant. Grant, now 39, was molested by a priest during her teen years. She received a $25,000 settlement, but the priest was never prosecuted. "Hopefully the warning to Cardinal Mahony will bring all the cases forward for the criminal investigations that they deserve, which have been blocked by Cardinal Mahony making decisions that really only law enforcement and district attorneys should make," said Grant. Cardinal Mahony Kept Cleric's Abuse Secret for 16 Years By Glenn F. Bunting A popular Los Angeles priest told Cardinal Roger M. Mahony in 1986 that he molested young boys, but was reassigned to parishes and allegedly continued his sexual abuse of minors for more than a decade, documents and interviews show. Mahony later approved a secret $1.3-million payment to two men who said they had been abused by the priest, Father Michael Stephen Baker, from 1984 to 1999. The cardinal arranged for the priest to quietly retire from the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles in late 2000. In a letter of complaint that led to the settlement, attorney Lynne M. Cadigan wrote that Mahony and the archdiocese had failed to ensure that Baker did not repeat his sexual offenses against children. "No one at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, including Cardinal Mahony ... reported Baker's sexual abuse of children to the authorities, to the parents of the abused children or to any other foreseeable victims. Nor did they attempt to find out all the children that he had molested." Baker, now 54, allegedly molested at least nine youths beginning in 1976, according to interviews with victims, relatives and lawyers. It was not until recent weeks that Mahony, under increasing pressure to reveal the names of clerics accused of sexual misconduct, reported Baker to law enforcement. On Tuesday, Mahony faxed a two-page letter to about 1,200 priests in the archdiocese, acknowledging that he had mishandled the case. "As your archbishop, I assume full responsibility for allowing Baker to remain in any type of ministry during the 1990s," Mahony wrote. "I offer my sincere, personal apologies for my failure to take firm and decisive action much earlier." The letter, addressed to "My Brother Priests," warned of an upcoming media story on Baker. The Times has been preparing an article about the priest. "You need to be aware that such a story could come anytime now, and you need to be aware of the seriousness of this case," Mahony wrote. The cardinal also notified the priests that archdiocese leaders have now learned of more allegations of sexual misconduct against Baker. He is one of at least 30 current and former priests from the archdiocese under investigation by criminal authorities. In a series of interviews with The Times, Baker described going to the offices of the archdiocese in 1986 and telling Mahony of his problem with sexual abuse. He said that in one meeting, an archdiocese lawyer suggested calling the police but that Mahony said no. The cardinal said in an interview that he could not recall the discussion with Baker. The case is emerging as a pivotal one for Mahony and archdiocese leaders as they continue to grapple with the sexual abuse scandal that has hit the Roman Catholic Church. In an interview last month, Mahony called the Baker case the one "that troubles me the most." The cardinal has sought to portray himself as a defender of young victims and an advocate of cooperating with criminal investigations. At Pope John Paul II's historic meeting with American cardinals in Rome last month, Mahony backed a "zero tolerance" policy for sexually abusive priests. But leaked e-mail correspondence between top archdiocese officials reveals that Mahony was reluctant to turn over Baker's name to police as recently as late March. The cardinal answered some questions about Baker last month but declined in the past week to be interviewed. An archdiocese spokesman cited Mahony's workload and recovery from a recent blood clot in his lung. In an interview last month, the cardinal said the archdiocese had few options in dealing with Baker because the allegations against him were unproven. "Our biggest problem was that ... he wasn't found guilty of a criminal act," Mahony said. "That's a big problem." In his letter to priests, Mahony did not disclose his failure to notify police when he learned about Baker's alleged abuses against minors in 1986 and again in 2000. But he wrote, "If I had known in those years what I discovered in early 2000, I would have dismissed him from all ministry and requested his dismissal from the priesthood in the late 1980s." Of all the cases involving archdiocese priests facing claims of sexual abuse, Mahony said, Baker's is most troubling because he allegedly molested a number of children in the 1970s, '80s and '90s and continues to live in the area unsupervised. Born and raised near Pasadena, Baker attended St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. Ordained in 1974, he initially served as an associate pastor at St. Joan of Arc parish in West Los Angeles for two years before transferring to St. Paul of the Cross in La Mirada. Gregarious and charismatic, Baker was so well-liked at St. Paul that several families followed him in 1982 when he was transferred to St. Hilary in Pico Rivera. Baker was brought in as administrator and associate pastor at a time when parishioners were deeply divided along ethnic lines over a nun's alleged physical assault of a young Latino pupil at St. Hilary Elementary School. Baker was instrumental in pulling the parish together, church officials said. He helped introduce a Sunday morning mariachi Mass and organize an annual Mexican fiesta that appealed to Latino families. "He speaks Spanish fluently," said Deacon Arturo Barragan, who served with Baker at St. Hilary. "He has a capability of understanding the experience of the Mexican people. He has been very in touch with their culture." Baker also was known for his active involvement in youth groups and teen clubs. He frequently took altar boys to the movies and on overnight trips. The first incident of alleged abuse that has come to light took place in 1976 when Baker invited a 9-year-old altar boy to spend the night at St. Paul's rectory after a church-sponsored New Year's Eve party. "That night was the beginning of a near-decade-long nightmare," the alleged victim, now 34 and living in West Hollywood, wrote recently in a memo to his attorney. "I knew what was happening was wrong, but felt trapped and would often just stare at the digital clock on the nightstand, afraid to go to sleep.... " The Times does not identify victims of sexual abuse without their consent. The man recalled in an interview with The Times that Baker took him on trips to Palm Springs, Newport Beach, Reno and Chicago. He said the abuse escalated to oral sex and that Baker occasionally whispered to him, "You're the son of God." Years later, Baker expressed remorse in a letter to the man. "I know very well the confusion and hurt of the past and especially my responsibility in that," Baker wrote on Jan. 29, 1994. "I don't know what I can ever do." Eight other people have alleged that they were molested by Baker in the late 1970s and '80s, according to interviews with them and their lawyers. Two brothers say Baker began abusing them at St. Hilary in 1984 when they were 5 and 7 years old. In September 1985, Mahony was appointed head of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The following summer, at an annual series of retreats for archdiocese priests, Mahony invited anyone who had engaged in sexual abuse to talk to him privately. "We said to priests, 'If you have a problem or had a problem, it'sreally beneficial to step forward now,'" Mahony recalled in last month's interview. "We made it clear that, if you told us, we would follow the policies." The procedures included removing a priest from ministry and referring him for evaluation while the archdiocese investigated any allegations, Mahony said. In a series of interviews with The Times, Baker declined to comment on specific allegations of abuse. The priest said he admitted in a private meeting with Mahony in December 1986 that he had engaged in sexual abuse of minors. "I told Mahony I had a problem," Baker said in one of a series of interviews with The Times. Mahony did not ask for specifics and appeared willing to let him remain in the priesthood, Baker said. "He was very solicitous and understanding. I was glad I brought it up." That evening, Baker said, he received a call from Msgr. Thomas Curry, the vicar for clergy who oversaw all priests. Curry directed Baker to return to archdiocese headquarters the next day. When he arrived, Baker said, Curry was joined by Mahony and John P. McNicholas, the archdiocese attorney. At the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes, Baker said he was asked the extent of his problem. Baker said he disclosed that "two or three" victims were involved and vowed not to engage in any future sexual misconduct. "I don't recall them pressing me for details, and I didn't give them any," he said. At one point, Baker said, he became startled when McNicholas blurted, "Should we call the police now?" Baker said he recalled Mahony's response: "No, no, no.... " The cardinal has provided conflicting accounts of his discussions with Baker. Initially, he said last month that he had no recollection of the priest speaking to him about abusing boys. Mahony acknowledged that he would probably remember such a meeting if it had occurred. Later, the cardinal said he thought Baker had approached Curry. Curry, now bishop of Santa Barbara, said he could not recall the Baker meeting either. "I just don't remember," he said. On Tuesday, Mahony confirmed in his letter to archdiocese priests that Baker had confessed to him. "Sometime in late 1986, Baker disclosed to me that he had problems in the past of acting out sexually with two minors," Mahony wrote. Priests and parents at the three parishes where Baker had served until 1986 said the archdiocese failed to inform them about any reported sexual abuse by Baker. In explaining his response, Mahony told the priests: "Baker was sent to a treatment center for evaluation and recommendation for his future. Following treatment, it was decided that he could do specialized priestly ministry not related to children and youth. He was subsequently given various ministries, such as special outreach to our retired priests." Mahony also required Baker to undergo continued counseling and banned him from having one-on-one contact with minors. The cardinal blamed Baker for not being honest during his twice-a-month counseling sessions. "Baker's truthfulness was questionable," Mahony said in an interview, adding that "we never found any evidence of cooperation. He deceived his therapists, everybody." In addition, Baker continued to have frequent access to children over the next 14 years while he was assigned to nine different parishes. Six of the churches where Baker worked had elementary schools adjacent to the rectory: St. Thomas the Apostle in Los Angeles, St. Elizabeth in Van Nuys, St. Linus in Norwalk, St. Mary in Palmdale, St. Lucy in Long Beach and St. Columbkille in South-Central Los Angeles. Records and interviews also show that Baker was sent to at least three parishes to fill in for pastors who had either retired or been transferred, leaving no superior to monitor his day-to-day activities. "Mainly, I was a pinch-hitter to keep things running smoothly," Baker said of his relief duties. In his message to priests, Mahony said the archdiocese received no reports of sexual abuse involving Baker until two years ago. "Early in ... 2000 we learned that two men in Arizona were preparing to sue Baker for past sexual abuse," Mahony wrote. "Once we became aware of that situation, he was removed immediately from all priestly ministry in accordance with the policy in effect at that time." Mahony did not include in his letter that the archdiocese had received a 14-page letter of complaint that said Baker had continued to molest the two men for 13 years after the priest confessed to the cardinal in 1986. Nor did Mahony mention in the letter that he authorized a $1.3-million settlement with the two men and that the archdiocese insisted the deal remain secret. The Times obtained a copy of the letter of complaint that was sent to the archdiocese in May 2000 by Tucson attorney Cadigan on behalf of the two men, who are brothers now living in Mexico. The letter of complaint describes the alleged abuses in detail. At about the same time Mahony returned Baker to ministry in 1987, the two brothers and their mother moved to Guadalajara. According to the letter of complaint, Baker made the first of many trips to Guadalajara to visit the boys in the spring of 1988. "Baker also flew [the brothers] from Mexico to Los Angeles, Palm Springs and Arizona approximately 15 times and, during the visits to Los Angeles, had the boys sleep with him [in] the rectory, where he molested them," the letter of complaint alleges. The document also states that Baker provided the brothers with alcohol when they were young minors. The alleged abuses continued until 1999, according to the letter of complaint. The two men said they remained silent because Baker had threatened them if they told anyone and they did not want to hurt their mother, who had befriended the priest and regularly received money from him. After receiving the letter of complaint, attorneys for the archdiocese and Baker quickly offered to settle, Cadigan said. They agreed to pay the brothers $1.3 million, among the largest settlements at the time for victims of sexual abuse in the archdiocese. "I have never had a case in my 19 years of handling sex abuse claims that settled this quickly for this kind of money" without even filing a lawsuit, Cadigan said. She concluded that archdiocese officials knew "the allegations against Baker were true, there would be more victims, and they didn't want any publicity. What they were buying was silence." Baker said he agreed to pay about half of the settlement from his own funds. "I didn't want to fight it," he said. "I didn't want to go public and didn't want anyone to go through any more pain." At the end of 2000, Mahony's aides arranged for Baker to resign from the priesthood. The archdiocese provided Baker about $10,000 in severance pay and 18 months of health insurance coverage. The pastor at St. Camillus de Lellis near USC, where Baker last served, said he was told by a top aide to Mahony that the proper authorities had been notified about Baker in late 2000. Father Chris Ponnet said he had assumed the out-of-court settlement reached with Baker's victims included a jail term or probation. "When something like this happens and a child ... is victimized, I've always believed it was ... a crime," Ponnet said. "I was always under the impression that if a crime had occurred, with or without the settlement, the appropriate police and others would be working with us." But it wasn't until early this year, as the sex abuse scandal mushroomed and Mahony came under pressure to reveal the names of eight priests who had been previously accused of sexual misconduct, that the cardinal turned Baker's name over to police. Even then, the cardinal was hesitant to cooperate, documents show. According to confidential e-mail leaked to radio station KFI in April, Baker was among the final three names Mahony had not provided to law enforcement. In a March 27 e-mail to his top advisors titled "Our Big Mistake," Mahony scolded the archdiocese lawyer, Sister Judy Murphy, for resisting his suggestion that she "consult" with the Los Angeles Police Department about the three names. "If we don't, today, 'consult' with the [LAPD] about those three names, I can guarantee you that I will get hauled into a Grand Jury proceeding and I will be forced to give all the names, etc.," Mahony wrote. "There is no middle ground on this; we are losing the battle because we are somehow 'hiding' those three." On March 30, Murphy reminded members of the cardinal's inner circle that Mahony was the one who resisted giving up Baker to police until the day before his "Big Mistake" memo. "If you all remember, permission to do this was not given until Tuesday," Murphy wrote. "He was reluctant about [Baker]." After The Times reported on April 17 that Baker was being investigated by police, Mahony authorized pastors at a dozen parishes where Baker had served to make an announcement during weekend Masses in late April. The statement, which came 15 years after Mahony first learned of Baker's past, encouraged anyone who had information that might assist investigators to contact the LAPD. "Our faith teaches us that children are precious in God's eyes," the statement concluded. "Let's work together to make our homes, parishes and schools safe havens for all our children." Times staff writers Ralph Frammolino, Beth Shuster and Richard Winton contributed to this report. Woman Seeks to Find Priest She Says Fathered Her Child By Beth Shuster A woman who alleges that she was made pregnant at the age of 16 by one of seven Catholic priests who had sex with her 20 years ago said Monday that she wants Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to help her daughter identify which man is her father. Rita Milla said she was sexually abused by Father Santiago Tamayo when she was attending St. Philomena Church in Carson. He allegedly introduced her to six other priests who she said also seduced her. When she became pregnant, she said, Tamayo sent her to the Philippines, telling her parents she was studying there. Instead, she secretly had the baby at Tamayo's brother's clinic. Mahony, who was released from the hospital Sunday after being treated for blood clots in his lung, would not comment. But his spokesman, Tod Tamberg, said the cardinal would be very open to helping Milla identify the father of her daughter, who is 19. Tamberg said the archdiocese provided an annuity for the child when she was born, but does not know how much was paid to the family. Milla's parents learned of the child upon her return from the Philippines. Tamberg said Mahony does not know where the accused priests are located, nor does he know whether they are still in the priesthood. Milla said she believes at least two of the men are dead. In 1984, Milla filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles archdiocese alleging fraud, clergy malpractice and conspiracy. Her attorney, Gloria Allred, said the day the lawsuit was filed that "all seven priests seemed to disappear from their parish offices." Allred said she lost the lawsuit in the state Court of Appeal because the statute of limitations had expired. In March 1991, Tamayo apologized face-to-face to Milla, telling a news conference that he "had to go public and tell the whole truth. I knew that cheap absolution would not undo the evil of the past. I had her full trust and confidence, yet I got sexually involved with Rita. "Weakened by the sense of my own sins, I failed as a pastor to rescue her from getting involved with the other priests." Tamayo has since died. Allred said she recently obtained letters that show Mahony was paying Tamayo to remain in the Philippines for years after the baby was born. Those letters were cited in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed last week alleging sexual abuse by another Los Angeles archdiocese priest. In an August 1988 letter, then-Msgr. Thomas Curry told Tamayo he was surprised to learn the priest was staying in the Los Angeles area. The archdiocese "initiated salary payments to assist you while you were pursuing the possibility of permanent settlement in the Philippines," Curry wrote, saying that Tamayo was a liability to himself, his family and the church. Copies of the letters were also sent to Mahony. Allred said these letters indicated "a cover-up encouraged and financed by the church in order to protect itself with callous disregard for the rights of the victims." The payments were made public in 1991. Tamberg acknowledged that the church paid Tamayo while he was in Asia but said it was a salary, not payments to keep the scandal quiet. "I don't see how that's a cover-up--telling someone to stay away because of the liability they could cause by coming back here," Tamberg said. Milla's daughter, Jacqueline Milla, spoke in tears before television cameras at a news conference Monday in Allred's law office. "I understand that my biological father is a priest and that it is uncertain who out of several priests he may be," she said. "I have recently seen evidence that Cardinal Mahony knew of the whereabouts of at least one of the priests. I am now asking that he reveal where I may find my biological father.... Cardinal Mahony, please return my father to me." Rita Milla appealed to Mahony to treat her daughter "with more compassion and truth than they had for me." She said she only recently told her daughter about the priests' abuse. "I never let her go to church--I didn't think it was a safe place," Milla said. The Los Angeles archdiocese, like many others around the country, is facing lawsuits over allegations of past sexual abuse by priests. In Search Of A Confession By Joel Grover In a CBS 2 exclusive investigation, Joel Grover tracks down and confronts a priest who is being accused of molestation by eight alleged victims who say they were forced to have sex with him. CBS 2 traveled thousands of miles to find this priest, who some say is in hiding. Joel Grover: "Did you ever have sex with altar boys? Priest: "No?" JG: "You swear to God?" Priest: "Yes, I do." His name is Father Fidencio Silva. In the early 80s, he was priest at our Lady of Guadelupe Church in Oxnard, Calif., and he was in charge of the altar boys. Joel Grover to the victims: "Were you all abused?" "Yes." They are now police officers, businessmen, a graduate student ... They say that Father Silva molested them when they were boys, then suddenly he disappeared one day from their church. But now, we've found him, 2000 miles away, in the tiny Mexican village of Jesus Maria, working as a priest. We confronted him with the former altar boys' accusations. JG: "Did you ever touch their private parts?" Priest: "Not that I remember." JG: "What do you mean you don't remember?" Priest: "In the sense, I didn't, no. No I didn't." Victim: "He had me drop my pants. He traced his finger around my circumcision scar." Another victim: "He would massage my penis over and over again." And they say it gets worse ... JG to priest: "These boys say you had sex with them." Priest: "No." JG: "Oral sex?" Priest: "No." JG: "Anal sex?" Priest: "No." JG: "You swear to God?" Priest: "I swear to God." JG: "That's a lie." Victim: "He masturbated me, had oral sex with me, sodomized me." They say it happened in the church rectory, and on out-of-state trips. Victim: "I went to his room to visit him, and he asked me to drop my pants, then he asked me to masturbate him." And there's more ... Joel Grover to the Father Silva: "Did you ever take photographs of these boys naked?" Priest: "No." JG: "You're positive?" Priest: "Naked, you mean without any clothes?" Victim: "He was going to paint a risen Christ and he needed to see some anatomy. He took pictures of my penis, and then he told me, 'Now I need to take pictures of an erect.'" The more we spoke, the more Father Silva seemed to avoid our questions. JG: "Did you ever touch the naked body of an altar boy?" Priest: "What do you mean by naked?" JG: "What do you mean?" Priest: "No, what do you mean?" In the end, Silva says the accusations are lies. JG: "So why are these boys saying these things?" Priest: "I don't know and that hurts me a lot to know this." Finally, the Father asked us to go, leaving his alleged victims waiting for answers. Victim: "I hate him for what he did to us. I hate him for what he did to me. I hate him because he took away my religion." Thursday, the eight alleged victims sued Father Silva in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking unspecified damages. The suit also names Cardinal Roger Mahony and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The archiodiocese had no comment on the lawsuit. However, a spokesman for the archdiocese tells us it was aware of a charge of sexual misconduct against Silva back in 1995. Father Silva's order, the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, tells us at the time, it sent him to counseling, and relocated him to Mexico.
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