The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, in California, has agreed to pay 880 million dollars (811.9 million euros) to 1,353 victims of pederasty within the Catholic Church. The agreement, announced on Wednesday afternoon by the lawyers of those affected, is added to another million-dollar disbursement made in 2014, which brings the total amount of compensation paid by religious jurisdiction for cases originating from the 1940s. It is the highest payment in the United States for sexual assaults committed within the institution.
“There is no amount of money that can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave people who suffered for decades,” the Church’s lawyers said Wednesday when announcing the agreement. “There is justice in holding us responsible,” the lawyers added. Lawyers began negotiating with victims’ families late last year, as a window created by California law for victims of pedophilia in the Church to demand payment for damages closed. The institution had already paid 740 million dollars (683 million euros) in 2014 to close a series of cases, but the legal change opened the door to new lawsuits.
José Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, has explained in a letter that the bulk of the abuses were committed more than 50 years ago, and others in the 1940s. The lawsuits targeted some 300 different people in the archdiocese. “Some of these acts were committed by clerics from the archdiocese, others by lay people, and still others by priests and religious from other dioceses who were serving here,” Gomez writes. In 2011, the archbishop took over from Cardinal Roger Mahony, one of the most important religious leaders in the country who He worked for years so that cases of pedophilia did not come to light nor will they reach the hands of the authorities.
Many of the lawsuits that have been closed on Wednesday point to Father Michael Baker as responsible. Authorities believe he abused about 40 children during his religious career. Baker confessed to Mahony in 1986 that he was a pedophile. The archbishop, however, allowed him to return to the ministry after undergoing psychological therapy, but the abuse continued, according to the police.
“Survivors have suffered the consequences of these abuses for decades. Dozens of the survivors have already died. Others are elderly, like many of those who knew of these abuses. It was time for this to be resolved,” he told Los Angeles Times attorney Morgan Stewart, who led the negotiations with the Church.
Archbishop Gomez has asked for forgiveness for these events. “I hope that this agreement can heal a little to the men and women who suffered,” he says. The religious, originally from Monterrey (Mexico), assures that the reforms adopted years ago by the diocese, which serves 4.3 million Catholics in 120 cities, make cases of sexual abuse against minors committed by clerics “rare.” ” nowadays. These require exhaustive investigation of employees and constant reporting of activities. “No one who has harmed a minor is serving at this time. And I promise: we will continue to be vigilant,” he assures.
Gómez has predicted difficult times for the organization he heads. The amounts that will have to be disbursed to the victims will put the Church’s finances in trouble. He has indicated that they will not use donations directed to the parishes for compensation. “There is no doubt that the months ahead will be uncertain and tough decisions will be needed, but we will continue our obligation to victims of past abuses,” he writes.
The new agreement is the product of AB218, a California law that eliminated the statute of limitations for sexual crimes against minors, allowing victims to file lawsuits in court for a period of three years. During this temporary window, more than 1,900 processes were initiated accusing a religious of the archdiocese of being responsible for abuse.
AB218 caused a schism within the religious organizations of the most populous state in the United States. Nearly 90 dioceses and parishes had to declare bankruptcy to face the lawsuits filed against them. In January of this year it was the Franciscans, who faced 94 accusations. The Archdiocese of San Francisco did the same in August of last year. Before it was the turn of Oakland and Santa Rosa, a city north of the bay.
EL PAÍS launched an investigation into pedophilia in the Spanish Church in 2018 and has a database updated with all known cases. If you know of any case that has not seen the light, you can write to us at: [email protected]. If it is a case in Latin America, the address is: [email protected].
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