Organization of Pedophiles agrees to settlement

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-ex-priest120106,0,2708723.story?coll=la-home-headlines

L.A. archdiocese agrees to pay $60 million in abuse cases
By John Spano, Times Staff Writer
8:37 AM PST, December 1, 2006

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony announced this morning that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $60 million to settle 45 claims of clergy sexual abuse.

The settlement is the first by the church and represents 8% of the 562 cases brought by people who claimed the archdiocese failed to protect them from pedophile priests.

It is also the first settlement that Mahony has approved in Los Angeles. A dozen other Catholic institutions across the country have settled with victims of clergy abuse.

"This is very important for us," Mahony said in a telephone interview this morning. "This is a major effort at healing and reconciliation."

Mahony also said that he offered his personal apologies to victims of abuse during weekly meetings this fall.

 

Re: Organization of Pedophiles agrees to settlment

You have to love that thread title, delivered with poin's usual elan.

 

Re: Organization of Pedophiles agrees to settlment

Oh yeah, I love it when my religion is called the Organization of Pedophiles. Have to hand it to, poin, though. At least he's an equal opportunity bigot.

 

For the purposes of this lawsuit, though, it's exactly what they are.

Sad but true.

 

562 out of the tens of thousands of Catholic priests out there does not equal Organization of Pedophiles, IMO. These men are sick and need to be thrown in jail, and the Archdiocese protecting them is bullshit. But to paint them all as pedophiles is equally bullshit.

 

What the archdiocese has done to hide and protect their masses of pedophiles for decades is beyond insane. What an utterly disgusting bunch of perverts. If there was a hell, Cardinal Mahoney would rot there for eternity. Since its all a bunch of fairy tales, I hope he dies of an especially excruciating disease. Immediately.

 

OK, but Organization That Payed $40 Million For Failure to Rid Itself of Pedophiles won't look right on the coffee mugs.

 

If the thread title simply said Catholic Church agrees to settle pedophile cases, I wouldn't have a problem. It's no different than Poin starting a thread titled, "The Church of Holy Bombers strikes again."

 

562 pedophile cases in Los Angeles area alone. Systematically protected by the Archdiocese. You can imagine the ones that have gone unreported.

Absolutely an organization of disgusting, rotten pedophiles.

 

The Seattle Times did a great series about how the area's girls basketball coaches were an Organization of Pedophiles as well.

Let's just say this -- until recently, most anyone looked the other way when people in authority did this stuff. The sad lesson is that someone who is extremely interested in doing things for kids should be seen as a potential pedophile unless proven otherwise. That's why so many organizations that work with kids tell the adults to NEVER be a room alone with a child, at least not one without a large window.

Interesting anecdote from the anti-molestation training (not training how to not molest, but training in how to spot potential molesters and protect yourself from looking like one if you're not, training I had to sit through to coach my son's fourth-grade basketball team). The priest leading the training -- a guy who has served with one priest serving a 20-year sentence and is leading a church once served by another guy serving a 20-year sentence -- mentioned that priests now are putting in their wills a formal, notarized statement that they have never molested a child.

That's because dioceses are settling pretty much every case involving an accusation against a now-deceased priest, what with the obvious difficulty of getting his side of the story. Then that priest's name gets put on whatever Web sites are out there charting pedophile priests. So current priests who are doing nothing wrong want to make sure that they don't get tarred with that brush after their death.

 

Is that correct? 562 just in LA?

I was under the impression that that was 562 cases filed nationwide. Surely it is. Wouldn't it be classified as a class-action suit if 562 people sued the same organization?

 

poin --

I didn't think this deserved its own thread, but here's one for you...

http://www.startribune.com/484/story/846590.html