The Catholic Church has reached a settlement in the child sex-abuse case in Los Angeles of approximately $10 million, not including the costs of therapy, attorney’s fees and other costs. This is in addition to the $2.5 billion that the church has already spent in the USA dealing with pedophile priests. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has spent nearly $700 million itself.
Four men who were abused 25 years ago by a now-defrocked priest will split the $10 million. Approximately $660 million has already been given to more than 500 victims. The shocking amounts for church settlements in Los Angeles make the previous record for settlements of $84 million by the Archdiocese of Boston, which was originally the epicenter of the crisis.
Since the Boston scandal, the church has racked up horrifying statistics. More than 6,900 priests have been accused since 1950. More than 16,000 victims have been identified to date. And now with this new settlement, more than $3 billion has been spent on the abuse crisis.
While this is the first settlement after a California judge forced the church to release nearly 50,000 pages of internal records that it had tried to keep from public scrutiny for many years, it is expected that many more revelations and settlement announcements will eventually be made.
The documents clearly reveal that Cardinal Roger Mahony is responsible for trying to keep known predator priests from civil prosecution and failing to protect hundreds of victims. The cardinal was stripped of some ceremonial public duties but attended the conclave that elected Francis I. The settlement was announced a few hours after Mahony was locked away in the Sistine Chapel.
For a long time, the Church, during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, who knew about a lot of the problems as head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the problem of pedophile priests was not a systemic problem. The facts however have shown that this was a lie.
These abominations are revealed so that people will not be deceived in regard to Babylon and can make an informed decision about whether or not to remain in connection with her.
“Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power—all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven. As the people go to their former teachers with the eager inquiry, Are these things so? the ministers present fables, prophesy smooth things, to soothe their fears and quiet the awakened conscience. But since many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men and demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” the popular ministry, like the Pharisees of old, filled with anger as their authority is questioned, will denounce the message as of Satan and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it.” Great Controversy, pages 606, 607