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	Priest Abuses Need Owning up by All Pasadena Star-News July 17, 2007 http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinions/ci_6398616 Los Angeles (CA) — THE settlement of about 500 abuse cases against the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles ought to be a time of reckoning, of healing. This should be an opportunity to move beyond the sordid scandal of priestly abuse. It should be, but it isn't, and that's because lacking is a key ingredient: contrition. Although Cardinal Roger Mahony has apologized to the victims of the abuse, he has carefully dodged personal responsibility. He has made it clear that he is apologizing for the Catholic Church as an institution, but not for his own actions. Most of the abuses, he says, took place before he became cardinal. And his failure to call the police when he learned about the abuses, or why he moved abusers from one parish to another, were honest mistakes. Indeed, they probably were. No doubt, two decades ago, the cardinal sincerely believed - as did most of the psychological community - that therapy was enough to "reform" sex offenders. Now we know better. But even honest mistakes merit more than an apology on behalf of the church. The direct victims, as well as the indirect ones - good priests who have had their reputations unjustly sullied, parishioners who will be picking up the bill for this $660 million settlement - deserve some accountability. Healing requires that all involved own up to their mistakes. Only then can we have confidence that those mistakes won't be repeated. Still, the nearly $1.3 million (minus hefty attorney fees) that each victim will collect in this settlement will bring some small measure of justice. More so will be the archdiocese's long-delayed agreement to release its relevant personnel files. It's a credit to victims' attorneys that they held out for these documents, and didn't just settle for a pile of cash. Perhaps now, we can get a clear sense of what really happened. And maybe then all parties will at last truly accept responsibility.
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