Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Cardinal Mahony Deposed for 5 Hours in Sex Abuse Lawsuit

With all Hell still breaking loose in Ireland in the wake of the Murphy Report which documented horrific sexual and physical abuse of children by Catholic clergy, now Cardinal Roger Mahony (pictured at left) has had to undergo five hours of depositions in lawsuits against the Los Angeles archdiocese that allege that Mahony enabled and/or covered up for a sexual predator priest. The facts against Mahony sound very damning to date, yet far to many Catholics continue to kiss his ass and the fat, corrupt asses of members of the Catholic Church hierarchy who likewise demonstrated utter callousness towards children and youth. Unlike some of the bishops disgraced by the Murphy Report in Ireland, Mahony has refused to do the right thing and resign. Instead, he and the archdiocese has fought tooth and claw to avoid compensating victims of abuse for the Church's misdeeds. Here are some highlights from CNN:
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The head of the largest Catholic archdiocese in the United States faced a grueling five-hour deposition last month, answering questions about his knowledge of abusive priests and his attempts to prevent the information from reaching police. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California, would not answer further questions about Cardinal Roger Mahony's deposition in a civil lawsuit. "A transcript has not been made available to the archdiocese," spokesman Tod Tamberg said. "When the transcript is made available to the public, you [CNN] may resubmit your questions."
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Sources close to the investigation said both the federal investigation and the civil lawsuit focus on one priest in particular -- Michael Baker, who was defrocked and is serving a 10-year prison term for molesting three children. Baker, who confessed to Mahony in 1986, has twice appeared before the federal grand jury, sources tell CNN.
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Mahony failed to disclose Baker's self-reported crimes to police on several occasions and instead allowed Baker to seek treatment options while moving him from parish to parish, sources close to the investigation said.
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In a deposition released last year, Monsignor Richard Loomis, the former vicar of clergy for the archdiocese, said under oath that he wrote a memo in 2000 advocating that the archdiocese inform police about allegations of sexual abuse against Baker. Mahony, Loomis testified, directed him not to report the allegations.
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Mahony has dealt with accusations he covered up sex-abuse cases for years. Three years ago, the archdiocese agreed to pay $660 million to 508 people who claimed they were victims of abuse by priests.
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Personally, I cannot imagine knowingly exposing children and youth to sexual molestation apparently without slightest qualms of conscience. Yet meanwhile the Roman Catholic Church leadership and clerics like Mahony call gays disordered. I'd say it's they, not the gays, who are inherently disordered. Do they have ice water in their veins? it truly sickens me. Mahony should likely be behind bars for true justice to be done.

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