LOS ANGELES (CA)
City of Angels
July 27, 2010
[For previous City of Angels analysis of the depositions, see: 1 2 3. See also the full text of the depositions in searchable format. See City of Angels for the text of the important 5/26/10 Hodgman memo on investigating Mahony 1 2 3 with commentary. See also a PDF of the memo.]
Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board only heard hypothetical cases, while touted in the press as advisors to L.A. Archbishop Roger Mahony
Even John Manly seems astounded to hear the name of a lay committee in Los Angeles assigned to oversee sexual "misconduct" of Catholic priests. The news reported that CMOB advised the Archbishop on how to handle pedophile and other priest sex crimes. Manly, representing plaintiff Luis C., asked at the January 25, 2010, deposition of Cardinal Roger Mahony:
*MANLY: There were two boards, SAAB and then another board after 2002, is that right?
A: Correct.
Q: So the SAAB Board and its follow on board is CMORE?
MR. HENNIGAN: CMOB.
MR. MANLY: Okay. I don't know how you put that on the record but fine.
MR. HENNIGAN: C-M-O-B.
MR. MANLY: CMOB. Is that C-MOB? Okay…
Manly (right) released transcripts of depositions of Judge Richard Byrne and Bishop Thomas Curry, as well as the L.A. Archbishop in June 2010, from the case of Luis C vs. Doe 1 et al. In that case, Father Michael Baker had gotten away with pedophilia for so long, he was barely hiding it by the time he met altar boy Luis C, whose charges were recent enough to fall within the statute of limitations and helped put the priest in prison.
Manly did not finish deposing the Cardinal last January 25th:
MR. MANLY: This will conclude Volume I of the deposition of the Cardinal.
MR. HENNIGAN: The final volume.
MR. MANLY: No, I'm not going to agree to conclude the deposition.
MR. HENNIGAN: And I'm not going to agree to continue it.
MR. MANLY: I have a stack of documents here -
MR. HENNIGAN: Then you should have gotten to them. My point, your honor -
MR. MANLY: What is this, Judge? Who does he think he is?
THE COURT: Everybody calm down.
MR. HENNIGAN: We will review the transcript and make a record on the repetitiveness, the dilatory nature of this interrogation. If [the judge decides] that we have got to come back for another day, then we will.
MR. MANLY: That's fine but, Judge, there's a variety of documents I haven't gotten to.
THE COURT: I understand but - it's got to go in at a faster pace… So three hours really ought to be able to -
MR. MANLY: That's absolutely fine with me.
THE COURT: Can you agree to three hours?
MR. HENNIGAN: Avoid making a motion and we'll do it for three hours.
(But then the Luis C. Case was settled, or “dismissed” as it is called legally, on March 25, 2010, two months after the deposition of Mahony was interrupted.)
(Note, quotes in this blog post are copy and pasted directly from transcripts, with excess verbiage removed for sake of story, but no facts or details are changed.)
Cases of Priest Misconduct Went to the Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board As Hypothetical Cases
CMOB Never Heard Names of Priests or any Details of the Crimes.
CMOB never even knew if the crimes were real.
Manly asks Judge Byrne how the CMOB, Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board operated, from deposition on October 29, 2009:
Q: After hearing about all these hypothetical cases, did you see a larger problem that needed to be addressed between 1992 and 2002 with sexual abuse?”
BYRNE: No.
Q: Were you under the impression based on these hypothetical cases that you learned about that there were priests serving in the archdiocese that had previously molested children and were allowed to return to ministry?
BYRNE: I had no idea.
**************
(CofA: WAS HE SLEEPING?)
******************
JUDGE BYRNE: I don't have a recollection about any of these cases.
Q You don't ever remember Monsignor Loomis or Dire or Cox telling you that Father Fred or Father X had sodomized a child?
A No. I don't recall.
Q: Okay. Judge, when they were talking about Father Fred, would they say, "Hypothetically Father Fred had sodomized altar boy Jim” or how did that work?