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  U.S. Probe of Archdiocese Renews Focus on Cardinal

By John R. Emshwiller and Suzanne Sataline
Wall Street Journal
February 1, 2009

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123353325333437585.html

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. attorney's decision to move ahead with a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by clergy at the Los Angeles archdiocese will bring a new level of scrutiny of Cardinal Roger Mahony, the high-profile and long-serving archbishop who has withstood one criminal probe and civil lawsuits regarding his stewardship of the nation's largest archdiocese.

Cardinal Mahony, 72 years old, previously has dealt with a criminal investigation into his archdiocese by the Los Angeles district attorney's office and has signed off on a massive settlement by the archdiocese of civil lawsuits brought by people who claimed to have been abused by clergy.

Cardinal Roger Mahony
Photo by AFP

The archdiocese has said it is cooperating with the federal investigation. In a written response to questions Sunday, an archdiocese attorney said Cardinal Mahony long "has been at the forefront of dealing with" clergy sexual-abuse issues. "We have been unable to even hypothesize a crime that might have been committed in the handling of these problems," the attorney added.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the U.S. attorney late last year opened a grand-jury investigation of the archdiocese and has been subpoenaing documents and calling witnesses. While the Los Angeles district attorney's investigation, begun in 2002, resulted in the conviction of several former clergy, it hasn't led to charges against high-level church officials. That district-attorney probe remains open, a spokeswoman said. The broad powers of a federal probe, which allow investigators to seek evidence across the country, could give the U.S. attorney's office an advantage over local authorities.

Still, the federal probe faces some of the same problems that have hampered other investigations across the country. In the Los Angeles archdiocese and others, many of the abuse cases occurred years or even decades ago. If there was wrongdoing by senior church officials, the statute of limitations — which requires that charges be filed within a certain time period — might have expired. Also, it could be difficult to show direct wrongdoing by senior church officials because they weren't personally involved in abusing children, but possibly covering up and allowing any alleged crimes to continue.

U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien has declined to comment on his office's probe.

Cardinal Mahony, who was appointed to lead the archdiocese in 1985, has publicly acknowledged making mistakes in handling certain clergy accused of child abuse. As a result of policy changes instituted by the cardinal, "the Archdiocese created what surely is among the safest environments for children in the United States," said the statement Sunday from the church's lawyer.

Write to John R. Emshwiller at john.emshwiller@wsj.com and Suzanne Sataline at suzanne.sataline@wsj.com.

 
 

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