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By Larry B. Stammer, Beth Shuster, and Richard Boudreaux ROME -- Several senior American cardinals will urge the Vatican today to ask Cardinal Bernard Law to resign as archbishop of Boston in the face of an escalating sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. Two American clerics--a bishop and a cardinal--said that America's Catholic bishops are all but unanimous in believing that Law must leave Boston for the good of the church. The cardinal, who asked to remain anonymous, said Sunday that he had been "commissioned" by other senior prelates to take their case against Law directly to Pope John Paul II's inner circle. He said that he, as well as others, would do so today during private meetings at the Vatican. Today's meetings come a day before two days of talks between America's cardinals and Vatican leaders on the abuse scandal. "If the Holy See wants to send a strong signal of quality and standards of leadership," the cardinal told The Times, Law "will have to be replaced. This cannot be a phaseout." The cardinal said he did not want to undermine his efforts by publicly disclosing his name before speaking to the Vatican. The bishop, also speaking on a confidential basis, told The Times, "Many bishops are of the mind that the healing process really can't begin until there's a change of leadership in Boston." The rare move against a fellow cardinal underscored Law's increasingly precarious position in the wake of his handling of the scandal in his archdiocese, and the growing determination by the U.S. hierarchy to call for dramatic steps to extricate the American church from one of its worst crises in modern times. A week ago Law flew to Rome to confer privately with the pope and other Vatican officials about his future. He returned to Boston and announced that he would continue as archbishop as long, he said, as God would permit him to serve. On Sunday, Law received a standing ovation when he told churchgoers at Holy Cross Cathedral that he wished that he could "undo the harm" caused by his handling of cases involving the sexual abuse of minors by priests. Since the scandal erupted in January in Boston, it has spread across the country as sexual abuse allegations, many of them based on molestations going back decades, surfaced in other dioceses, including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland and West Palm Beach, Fla. "He [Law] created the impression that nobody did anything, and that's what infuriated a lot of us," the cardinal said. Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, would not acknowledge or comment on continuing pressure for Law's resignation. It is "pure speculation" that Law's job could become a topic of discussion at the meetings this week, he said Sunday. Other American church officials, noting that Law had met a week ago with the pope, said his tenure as archbishop was an issue between the two men only. "I believe the question must remain in the hands of Cardinal Law, taking into account his own perception of the feelings of his priests and his parishioners and his dialogue with the Holy Father," Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, an American in the Vatican hierarchy, told the Roman newspaper La Repubblica. "I cannot judge." But Bishop William S. Skylstad, archbishop of Spokane, Wash., and vice president of the U.S. bishops conference, told ABC News Sunday before leaving for Rome that Law "is in a very difficult situation." Earlier this month, Los Angeles' Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, asked to comment on Law's future, said he would find it difficult to walk down an aisle in church if he had been guilty of gross negligence. Call to Close Loopholes The cardinal who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity said he hoped that Law would step down "soon." In any case, he said, Law should not delay his resignation beyond the June meeting in Dallas of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who are poised to impose a new and mandatory protocol on all U.S. bishops for handling and preventing sexual abuse in their 195 dioceses. The details of the protocol are to be worked out during the two-day, closed door consultation beginning Tuesday between the eight U.S. cardinal-archbishops and the pope and the highest-ranking cardinals in the Vatican. The Americans hope to win Rome's approval for imposing binding standards on all U.S. bishops. Mahony said he will call for worldwide standards. He said many U.S. archdioceses rely on foreign priests, some of whom are "problem priests." Yet, he said, often their home bishops or religious order superiors fail to inform their American counterpart of a priest's failings. A worldwide protocol would help close such loopholes. Sex scandals in America, in which dozens of priests have been accused of abusing children, have shaken the faith of American Catholics, cost the church millions of dollars in settlements and raised questions about American bishops' handling of investigations. Bishops in Florida, Ireland and Poland have resigned because of the scandals. But most of the criticism has focused on Law, who allowed pedophile priests to continue their ministries. Two cases in which Boston area priests were transferred from parish to parish and continued to molest minors outraged Catholic leaders in his archdiocese, who called for his resignation and vowed to tighten their purse strings. Now the lobbying against Law has reached the Vatican. Talks May Backfire Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said he did not know about the effort to press the Vatican for Law's removal. He said he was surprised to hear of it and had no immediate position on it. "I'm not a part of it," he said. "I'm not going to judge what other bishops are doing. Every bishop does what he feels he has to do for the good of the church. I'm not going to respond to it. I haven't had time to think about it." George S. Weigel, an American theologian and papal biographer who has spent the last three weeks in Rome, predicted that any church official who advocates Law's resignation this week will "marginalize himself in the discussion." "People may talk about how far this situation has gone and what other situations have to be looked at," Weigel said. "But this is not a meeting to discuss Boston. The temper here is not for that kind of discussion. That's not the way the church works." The Vatican does not respond to "the press fervor of the moment," he said, adding that the cardinals were more likely to discuss the criteria under which any bishop who has mishandled a sex abuse case should step down. But Father Thomas Williams, dean of theology at the pontifical university Regina Apostolorum in Rome, said the debate over Law's position "is good in the sense that everyone should be heard." "There's a variety of opinions about what should be done [about Law] among those who are sincerely looking after the best interests of the church," Williams said. "All the issues have to come out, all the arguments." New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan, who has also come under fire for mishandling sexual abuse cases, said before leaving his archdiocese for the Rome meeting that he was "deeply sorry" for any errors he made and vowed to take steps to prevent them in the future. "You should expect nothing less of me, and the other leaders of our church," he wrote in a letter Saturday to Catholics in his archdiocese. In St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, John Paul celebrated Mass for 20 newly ordained priests, telling them that Jesus expects a "higher loyalty" from them, a rigorous life of poverty and humility. "He asks of you to be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect," the pope said. "In a word, the Lord wants you to be holy. . . . If every vocation in the church is in the service of holiness, some--such as the vocation of ordained ministry and the consecrated life--are that in a singular way." Times staff writer William Lobdell contributed to this report. Mahony Launches New Initiatives to Deal With Priest Scandal NBC4.TV Cardinal Roger M. Mahony plans to announce Thursday that he is expanding the scope and authority of a mostly lay panel overseeing all sexual abuse allegations in his vast archdiocese. Mahony planed to give interviews Thursday to NBC4 and other TV stations serving the Southland to outline three new initiatives aimed at dealing with abuses cases in the Roman Catholic Church. On the eve of his on-air interviews, Mahony told the Los Angeles Times that his initiatives are far-reaching and will help the church deal with future problems. He said that, as he looks back over the clerical sex abuse allegations, he wishes he had two of the new programs in place: an expanded panel of mostly laypeople to examine the accusations and claims, and an education program to teach children how to guard against sexual abuse and other types of violence. The education programs, which are expected to be implemented in the 287 parishes in the three-county Los Angeles archdiocese, are aimed at teaching children ways to avoid potentially dangerous situations, including sexual abuse, kidnapping and neglect by any adult. Mahony also told the Times that he plans to add "spiritual" programs aimed at helping abuse victims who want to continue their involvement in the church separate from therapy or other forms of counseling. Additionally, the Times reported, Mahony plans to create a separate task force to attempt to determine how much the archdiocese has paid to settle abuse claims against clergy members. Because the archdiocese had several insurance companies over the years, Mahony told the Times he wants to determine the costs involved in these cases to get a better idea of the financial implications of the problem. As the sexual abuse scandal has burgeoned across the nation, a frequent complaint has been that bishops who control the church's 195 U.S. dioceses have not been accountable to parishioners. Mahony seems intent to begin addressing that issue by not only expanding the number of laypeople on his existing sexual abuse council but giving it more authority, the Times reported. "What has become obvious to me is that too much of this has been functioning within the close clerical circles. We're much better served when we involve ... laypeople," he told the Times. Years ago, he said, bishops believed that "God's grace was powerful enough to help overcome this moral evil" of abuse by priests. Today, however, he realizes that some problems cannot be solved spiritually and need to be dealt with through the criminal justice system. Mahony said he will expand the existing nine-member sexual abuse advisory council to 15 members, only three of whom will be priests. The council now has seven lay members and two priests. Among the lay members are the parents of two children who were molested by priests, and a retired judge. Mahony told the Times that he wants to appoint a sexual abuse victim to the expanded panel which, he said, will have "much more authority" over deciding how to resolve complaints of priest abuse. He said the panel will develop and review sexual abuse policies for the Los Angeles archdiocese, which serves Catholics in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Asked if the council would have the final word on how a case is decided, Mahony told the Times that is "the thrust" of his intention. Currently, the panel makes recommendations to Mahony. Mahony said he will discuss these ideas, among others, when he and other American cardinals summoned by the pope meet with Vatican officials in Rome next week. Bill Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, told the Times that the scope of Mahony's initiatives appears to be unprecedented. He said he does not know of any other church programs as comprehensive. The Roman Catholic Church faces sexual abuse allegations around the country. The accusations first surfaced in Boston earlier this year when it was revealed that a priest had molested more than 130 boys over several years and was transferred from parish to parish. The LAPD has a special phone line for victims to report abuse by clergy, and detectives say they are receiving new tips nearly every day. The phone number is (213) 485-2883. Mahony Gives Abuse Panel More Muscle By Beth Shuster and Larry B. Stammer Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will announce today that he is expanding the scope and authority of a panel overseeing all sexual abuse allegations in the Los Angeles Archdiocese in an effort to add more credibility to the process. Mahony plans to discuss three new initiatives aimed at dealing with abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Church in media interviews today. In an interview Wednesday, Mahony said his initiatives are far-reaching and will help the church deal with future problems. As he looks back over the clerical sex abuse allegations, Mahony said he wished he had two of the new programs in place: an expanded panel of mostly laypeople to examine the accusations and claims and an education program to teach children how to guard against sexual abuse and other types of violence. The cardinal said he also plans to add "spiritual" programs aimed at helping abuse victims who want to continue their involvement in the church separate from therapy or other forms of counseling. In addition, a separate task force will be created by Mahony to attempt to determine how much the archdiocese has paid to settle abuse claims against clergy members. Because the archdiocese had several insurance companies over the years, Mahony said he wants to determine the costs involved in these cases to get a better idea of the financial aspects of the problem. As the sexual abuse scandal has flared across the country in recent months, a frequent complaint from rank-and-file Catholics has been that bishops who control the church's 195 U.S. dioceses have not been accountable to parishioners. Mahony seemed intent to begin addressing that issue by not only expanding the number of laypeople on his existing sexual abuse council but giving it more authority. "What has become obvious to me is that too much of this has been functioning within the close clerical circles. We're much better served when we involve ... laypeople," Mahony said. Additionally, Mahony said the priests' role is somewhat "conflictive." "One of our main roles is forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration," Mahony said. Years ago, he added, bishops believed that "God's grace was powerful enough to help overcome this moral evil." Mahony said that today, however, he knows that some problems cannot be solved spiritually and need to be dealt with through the criminal justice system. The cardinal said he will expand the existing nine-member sexual abuse advisory council to 15 members, only three of whom will be priests. The council now has seven lay members and two priests. Among the lay members are the parents of two children who were molested by priests, and a retired judge. Mahony said he wants to appoint a sexual abuse victim to the expanded panel which, he said, will have "much more authority" over deciding how to resolve complaints of priest abuse. He said the panel will develop and review sexual abuse policies for the archdiocese. Asked if the council would have the final word on how a case is decided, Mahony said that is "the thrust" of his intention. Currently, the panel makes recommendations to Mahony. Cardinal May Be Trying to Take Lead Nationally Mahony's proposals were met with praise from some who believe the cardinal is attempting to take the lead on these issues. Mahony said he will discuss these ideas, among others, when he and other American cardinals meet with Vatican officials in Rome next week. Bill Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, said that the scope of Mahony's initiatives appears to be unprecedented. He said he does not know of any other church programs as comprehensive. "This certainly does sound very far-reaching," Ryan said. He said that a number of other U.S. dioceses have sexual abuse review councils whose members include a majority of laypeople. But he said Mahony's intention to give his council greater authority in resolving cases may be unique. The Most Rev. William S. Skylstad, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Tuesday that Mahony's proposals are the "most specific" he has seen. "We've talked about some of those issues but haven't gone ahead as far as planning. I'm very impressed," Skylstad said. The education programs, which are expected to be implemented in the 287 parishes in the three-county archdiocese, are aimed at teaching children ways to avoid potentially dangerous situations, including sexual abuse, kidnapping and neglect by any adult. "These programs are designed to help children and young people in all kinds of situations," Mahony said. "How do you avoid being kidnapped? How do you avoid pornography on the Internet? How do you deal with advances by abusers?" He said there are several good existing programs that involve both minors and their parents. He said an archdiocesan working group is looking at programs now and should have recommendations to parishes within a few weeks. Mahony said his offer to create spiritual programs for sexual abuse victims may not appeal to some, but he said he believes it is important for the church to make a "spiritual outreach." The Roman Catholic Church faces sexual abuse allegations around the country. The accusations, some new and some years old, first surfaced in Boston earlier this year when it was revealed that a priest had molested more than 130 boys and was transferred from parish to parish. Mahony insists that his archdiocese is cooperating with law enforcement authorities and that he has a "zero-tolerance" policy toward maintaining abusers in the church. He said he has turned over names of alleged abusive priests to the Los Angeles Police Department, and he is continually meeting with victims. The LAPD has a special phone line for victims to report abuse by clergy, and detectives say they are receiving new tips nearly every day. The phone number is (213) 485-2883. A Belief So Deep, Priest Scandals Can't Shake It By Teresa Watanabe Even after the Roman Catholic Church's clergy sex scandal hit home, even when her own parish priest was accused of molestation last month, Maria Lopez never doubted her faith. How could she? Her entire life, she says, has been one long answered prayer. Lopez, a 35-year-old electronics company supervisor in Azusa, says God has calmed her troubled marriage, miraculously provided every time her cash ran short, even sent an angel disguised as a woman to talk her out of suicide. Her church friends, as dear to her as her own mother, have prayed with her through her illnesses, fed her family and cared for her children. On Saturday, she marched with them and 3,000 others through downtown Los Angeles in support of their faith. After Mass on Sunday, she gathered with a dozen others, clasping hands and offering fervent prayers for her church, the priests and all abuse victims. The priests in her life have baptized her four children, blessed her home and counseled her through depression. Her own pastor, Father David Granadino of St. Frances of Rome in Azusa, is under investigation on allegations that he molested boys, but Lopez and her children say they know only his goodness. Lopez's life offers a glimpse into why the Catholic Church's spiraling crisis is not likely to drive many devout Catholics away from their spiritual touchstone. Her faith, she says, is not rooted in a hierarchy of men, but in the redeeming and nourishing power of Jesus' love. In the rhythms of weekly Mass, in the deep friendships forged, her faith is her life and her church is her family. "Our faith is based on God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and not on a priest," Lopez says. "Everybody is human; everybody falls at one time or another. As Christians, we should forgive. I am not someone to judge others." Lopez, a Mexico native, shares her testimony with an effervescent smile and a rapid, passionate stream of words. In hours of conversation about her faith, she never once mentioned Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Pope John Paul II or issues of dogma until asked about them. Women's ordination? Married priests? "I never think about those things, to be honest," Lopez says. What informs her faith is apparent the minute you approach her four-bedroom, blue stucco home near the end of an Azusa cul-de-sac. Her front door is flanked by a prominent statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Inside her immaculately kept home, every room resembles a shrine, with statues of angels and doves, religious art and prayers mounted over doorways. Lopez's husband, Jorge, usually attends Mass on Friday mornings because his job as chef at a Glendale country club keeps him busy the rest of the week. Two of their children attend St. Frances school. Three of them won "altar servers of the year" last year and have honorary plaques and pictures of a church-sponsored Disneyland trip to show for it. Children Attribute Success to God All of the children have faith testimonies too, though these must be prodded out of them by their beaming mother. Jorge, 14, shyly noted that God had helped him boost his grades enough this year to finally realize his dream of playing on the school and city baseball teams. Anabely, 12, remembers the time she prayed the rosary and subsequently aced an exam. Fernando, 11, says God helped heal his grandfather, mother and cousins during times of illness. Christian, 8, has no particular testimony, but volunteers that he was sad because he couldn't make his first confession in March with Granadino, who has been removed from duty by the Los Angeles archdiocese pending results of the investigation. Church officials say the priest has "forcefully" denied the allegations. "He's the best priest, because he has the same [flattop] hair as mine," Christian says. The three oldest children, along with their parents, were interviewed by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy during Holy Week, says Lopez. They say the deputy asked the children how they liked being altar servers, whether they had ever heard of any problems involving Granadino or other priests. Anabely says she reported two problems--one priest, not Granadino, once yelled at an altar server for failing to set up the chalice properly; another church official once kept a server after Mass until she learned to correct the mistake she had made during service. But the Lopez family says that Father David, as they call him, had never hurt them, had always made them happy with jokes, compliments and a perennial smile. He asked about their classes, brought in pizza for the altar server meetings and arranged the Disneyland trips. Last June, he came by to bless the new family pool--another gift from God, Lopez says, made possible by a home refinance that dropped their monthly mortgage payments by $400. Anabely says Father David always gave homilies that even children could understand. She remembers the time he talked about how his tough Air Force experiences had taught him not to complain and to be grateful for what he had. "In a way, I don't believe [the charges] because he's so nice," says Anabely, an honor roll student with brown hair and braces who, like her mother, wears a cross around her neck. "But anyway, I'm serving God. Father David is one priest; there are many others." For Lopez, the bonds of faith were not always so strong. She says her mother died when she was 5, and her father immigrated to California ahead of her and 12 siblings to work. Until she joined him in 1976 at the age of 9, she was raised by an older sister in Mexico who could not afford to send her to school and did not always bring her to Mass. It was after she came to Pasadena and joined St. Andrew's Church that she began to learn about her faith, she says. A church woman took her under her wing, taught her to pray and helped prepare her for first Holy Communion. A St. Andrew's priest protected her from a local bully, telling her: "No one will ever touch you again. Do not be scared." After she and her husband married and bought their Azusa home 11 years ago, she had to take a full-time job. The dual burdens of work and family brought new strains. Lopez says she started drinking and partying. She started arguing with her husband, who felt she was neglecting the family. Then, one day four years ago, things began to change. She says she decided to drive to the mountains and kill herself, but needed gas. While she was refueling, she says, an elderly woman came up to her, a total stranger. Lopez says the woman told her: Peace be with you. You have children who love you. Why are you thinking of killing yourself? Lopez was shocked. "I believe she was an angel," she says. "No one ever touched my heart like that." She says the brief encounter opened her for the first time to confronting the mistakes she had made in her life. Then she fell into clinical depression, began popping more than a dozen prescribed pills a day and finally went on disability leave. That's when her church community rallied around her, sending groups to her home to pray and others to feed and watch her children. One of them was Lupita Diaz, a woman who Lopez says has become the mother she barely had. Diaz marched with Lopez and her children in the rally Saturday, carrying signs--"Sigue a Cristo," or Follow Christ--and singing exuberant hymns. Diaz also threw a surprise birthday brunch for her in February, complete with her three favorite cakes (coconut, chocolate mousse and chocolate pineapple), and leaves messages on her voicemail: "Are you OK? I just want you to know I love you and Jesus loves you." Such friendships led Lopez to join the church prayer group; her aith has become a central part of her life ever since. Every time she climbs into her Dodge van, she makes the sign of the cross for safety. Every Friday, she prays the rosary and fasts for half the day. She attends "healing Masses" for others, and carries religious books with her constantly--titles like "Persevere Through God's Love." She reads them during her children's baseball practice and other moments of down time. And Lopez returns the charity she has received. She doesn't always have much to spare; her own family has no savings and struggles to make ends meet each week on a $4,000 monthly income. Life of Faith Includes Giving But what she has, she shares: sandwiches for the two hungry men who knocked on her door one day asking for help; a bag of food for the 15-year-old who just lost his father; a dollar last Sunday to the new family from Mexico who came to church hungry and homeless. Her biggest personal project each year is a food and toy drive for an orphanage in Tijuana. Throughout the year, she buys toiletries and small gifts, asks family and friends to donate what they can. Last year, she was running short when her husband volunteered $200 of his year-end bonus to help out. The family travels to the orphanage every Christmas season to cook for the children, play with them and bring them presents. Such acts embody the Lopez family's life of faith: "to love God and love others," she says. "Whatever happens, I am proud of my religion," Lopez says. "I follow my God and I follow Jesus. This will not change just because of what's going on." Enraged Catholics vent at Agoura forum on abuse By Tom Kisken kisken@insidevc.com Angry and frustrated Catholics venting at a clergy abuse forum wanted names of guilty priests. They wanted to know about money spent in settlements. They wanted reform. "I feel like the Catholic Church is the Titanic and we've hit the iceberg and we're taking on water," said Dan Crisafulli of Agoura Hills, referring to priests accused of molestation, including the pastor of his childhood parish on the East Coast. "If we don't come clean and get rid of those people, I think the church will lose its credibility and people will start to leave." More than 100 people gathered at St. Jude Church in Westlake Village on Monday night and unloaded in a sometimes loud meeting designed to air concerns and ask questions, many of which have no immediate answers. Some talked of child abuse accusations involving the Rev. Michael Wempe, whose assignments from 1969 to 1987 included time as an associate pastor at St. Jude and three Ventura County parishes. Many others aimed their anger at the seemingly never-ending scandals haunting the church worldwide. One man demanded to know if money collected for various national drives was being used by the Catholic hierarchy to pay off settlements to victims. A woman said she couldn't understand victims agreeing to settlements mandating they not go public with their stories. Joe Manion, a St. Jude deacon, said the Catholic Church was becoming too arrogant and was losing trust. "I think we've been betrayed," he said. "Our shepherds have let wolves into the flock." Another speaker said the abuse allegations receiving publicity in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are old cases, with some going back decades. "I'm so tired of hearing that they're old priests or new priests," responded a woman from Oak Park. "These priests are not dead and they're not in jail. We're still at risk. Pedophiles are sick people and they do not change." Demands for the release of priests' names drew applause. When a man in his 60s told of being a victim who was molested by a priest as a child, he received a standing ovation. Several people spoke passionately about the value of Catholic faith and the need to heal any wounds. Marilou O'Halloran, who was born in the Philippines, said that as an immigrant she always considered the church home. "I don't belittle anything, yet we have to go on," she said. "I can't see myself living without the Catholic Church." A Westlake Village priest advised people not to allow their rage to dictate their reactions to scandals, calling it spiritual suicide. Mothers talked of calling adult sons and asking if they had been molested. Some mentioned Wempe, who served at St. Jude in the 1970s and apparently gained a reputation as a caring, personable man of faith -- "a wonderful, wonderful priest," one longtime parishioner said. That image was affected by Mahony's statement that he removed Wempe from the ministry earlier this year as part of a zero-tolerance policy on child abuse. An archdiocesan spokesman confirmed the cardinal also sent Wempe to a treatment facility for counseling and evaluation about 14 years ago before transferring him to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, in a move that Mahony now labels a mistake. Last week, two brothers in Orange County filed a lawsuit against Wempe and the archdiocese. They say the priest sexually abused them when they were children living in the Conejo Valley in the 1970s and '80s. The brothers said they blocked the incidents from memory for decades. Wempe of Seal Beach was unavailable for comment. A Los Angeles attorney who said previously he represented the priest also could not be reached. Tuesday, the Rev. James Rothe said by telephone that when he became pastor at St. Sebastian Church in Santa Paula in 1987, Wempe had finished his stint as an associate and was awaiting a new assignment. Instead, the cardinal removed Wempe from the parish at Rothe's request and sent him to treatment. Rothe, now retired and living in Twin Lakes, said he didn't hear of any abuse allegations but asked for Wempe's removal because he had children in his private room and had taken youths with him on a short vacation. "I said it was a dangerous situation and I wanted him removed before anything happened," he said. Rothe said he asked a regional church leader whether he should go to the police but was told that because he didn't have specific allegations there was nothing to report. Wempe also served as an associate at St. Rose of Lima Church in Simi Valley from 1969 to 1973, according to a Los Angeles church source. He was at Ventura's Sacred Heart Church in 1977 before being reassigned the following year. At the St. Jude forum, one parishioner cited Wempe's name in her insistence that people have a right to protect their children. Another hooted at Mahony's claim in a Los Angeles Times story that when he transferred Wempe to Cedars-Sinai he was not aware the hospital had a pediatric unit. "Give me a break," she said. As she smoked a cigarette outside the forum, another parishioner summed up her feelings about the allegations by saying she felt "sad, very sad." "This is by far the biggest shock," she said. Back inside the conference room, St. Jude's current pastor, Monsignor William Leser, listened to the outpouring of anger, frustration and concern about clergy abuse. "I'm just as upset," he said, expressing the most frustration
with cases where Catholic leaders have responded to allegations by transferring
priests. "When they just move people around, that's gross negligence."
"I wouldn't call that gross negligence," he said. "I would call that gross stupidity." Man Accuses Former Priest Of Repeated Molestations NBC4.TV A 34-year-old West Hollywood man alleges that he was molested from 1976 to 1986 by a priest who Cardinal Roger Mahony said failed to comply with a church-ordered therapy program, it was reported Wednesday. The man told sheriff's investigators he was abused repeatedly by the Rev. Michael Baker, beginning when he was 9 years old at St. Paul of the Cross Church in La Mirada, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Father Mike did this to me, and he did it to others and needs to answer for his crimes," the Times quoted the man as saying. Baker left the priesthood two years ago and agreed to pay a portion of a $1.3 million settlement to the family of one victim, according to sources familiar with the deal. Mahony, who refused to discuss the specifics of Baker's case, told the Times that the former priest is among a small group that "troubles me the most," men who have left the archdiocese and are living without any supervision. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Baker told the Times he could not comment on the allegations or Mahony's characterization of him. "I have some feelings of response and clarification ... but I don't think I can really comment on them right now. I have been advised not to," Baker told the newspaper. Baker began years of counseling in the mid-1980s after the archdiocese learned of alleged child abuse, according to sources knowledgeable about Baker's treatment. "All of our evidence showed that he was never really complying with any therapy program and therefore there was never any cooperation of any kind," Mahony said. "The experience of many in dealing with him was they questioned the truthfulness of what he said." Mahony is under increasing pressure to reveal the names of priests who have been fired over child abuse allegations. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley sent Mahoney a letter warning of a grand jury investigation unless law enforcement agencies receive assurances that the archdiocese is disclosing everything it knows about the abuse allegations. Baker's attorney, Don Steier, declined to discuss the allegations. He cautioned that many priests have been accused of wrongdoing in recent months, citing the unsupported claim by a Fresno woman that she had been abused by Mahony in 1970. Police in Fresno concluded there was no evidence to support the claim. Jeffrey Anderson, an attorney for the West Hollywood man said to have been molested as a youth, said he sent a fax to Mahony Tuesday notifying him of the allegations and asking whether any other claims of sexual misconduct have been lodged against Baker. Priest Sent to Therapy Is Accused of Abuse By Beth Shuster, Richard Winton, and Glenn F. Bunting A 34-year-old West Hollywood man reported Tuesday to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department that he had been molested from 1976 to 1986 by a priest who Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said failed to comply with a church-ordered therapy program. The man, whose name is being withheld by The Times, claimed he was abused repeatedly by Father Michael Baker, beginning when he was 9 at St. Paul of the Cross Church in La Mirada. "Father Mike did this to me, and he did it to others and needs to answer for his crimes," the man said. Baker, 54, is one of several former priests whose names were recently turned over by church officials to Los Angeles Police Department investigators. Baker left the priesthood two years ago and agreed to pay a portion of a $1.3 million settlement to victims of one family, according to sources familiar with the deal. Mahony, who refused to discuss the specifics of Baker's case, said in an interview the former priest is among a small group that "troubles me the most," men who have left the archdiocese and are living without any supervision. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Baker said he could not comment on the allegations or Mahony's characterization of him. "I have some feelings of response and clarification ... but I don't think I can really comment on them right now. I have been advised not to," he said. Baker began years of counseling in the mid-1980s after the archdiocese learned of alleged child abuse, according to sources knowledgeable about Baker's treatment. "All of our evidence showed that he was never really complying with any therapy program and therefore there was never any cooperation of any kind," Mahony said. "The experience of many in dealing with him was they questioned the truthfulness of what he said." Mahony is under increasing pressure to reveal the names of priests who have been fired over child abuse allegations. L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley sent the cardinal a letter warning of a grand jury investigation unless law enforcement agencies receive assurances that the archdiocese is disclosing everything it knows about the abuse allegations. Lawyer Says Publicity Fuels Abuse Allegations Baker's attorney, Don Steier, declined to discuss the allegations. He cautioned that many priests have been accused of wrongdoing in recent months, citing the unsupported claim by a Fresno woman that she had been abused by Mahony in 1970. Police in Fresno concluded there was no evidence to support the claim. "It doesn't surprise me that there will be allegations made against priests or even the cardinal based upon the amount of publicity that is currently being generated," Steier said. "And ultimately, we will examine each case individually and determine the validity of the allegations. We've already seen that the allegations involving the cardinal were not meritorious." Jeffrey R. Anderson, an attorney for the West Hollywood man, said he sent a fax to Mahony on Tuesday notifying him of the allegations and asking whether any other claims of sexual misconduct have been lodged against Baker. Anderson, who represents dozens of alleged victims of pedophile priests across the country, said his client "is credible, he is earnest, and he is in a place where for the first time he could break his silence.... I told him you could put your head in the pillow tonight knowing you've done everything you can to make sure this kind of abuse doesn't happen to someone else." In the late 1980s, Mahony assigned Baker to work with retired priests and to occasionally help with Sunday masses at various parishes. He was not allowed to work with children. The man who reported the allegations to Sheriff's investigators claimed Baker would arrange to have him spend the night at St. Paul. "It started off very subtly. I'd be in bed with him and gradually it progressed," the man said. "I started staying up there once every couple of weekends." Baker, he said, took him to a home in Palm Desert, to Balboa Island and on a trip to Chicago, where he allegedly molested him. Baker, he said, lived lavishly for a priest and occasionally brought the man's mother and father on trips to Palm Desert. "He was a very charismatic guy. He befriended everyone," the man said. Accuser Says Priest Gave Him Money Baker sometimes showed remorse, he said, and would "leave money on the bed in the morning. I have letter somewhere from him, after the fact, that he was sorry for everything." Years later, the man said, he told a therapist about the molestations. He said the therapist reported them to police but nothing came of it except a single call to his mother, the man said. Around 1990 or 1991, he said, he confronted Baker. He said for several years he occasionally received money in the mail from Baker. The L.A. Archdiocese is one of several ministries around the country dealing with clerical sex abuse accusations, some decades old. In Cooley's letter, sent last week and obtained Tuesday, he said recent disclosures had raised serious questions about compliance by church officials with the state law that requires clergy members to report child abuse. "Your personal assurance that all known or reasonably suspected instances of child abuse have been reported by the Archdiocese to the appropriate law enforcement agencies is essential," the letter said. Cooley said if the archdiocese fails to comply, "formal investigation through the Los Angeles County Grand Jury may become necessary." In a reply received by Cooley this week, Mahony said his clergy are trained to comply with the law and that no information was being withheld. Mahony also provided details on four active cases, three involving priests and one allegation against a deacon. Cooley on Tuesday sent another letter to Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Larry Lewis, president of the L.A. County Police Chiefs' Assn., requesting that they review the cardinal's reply to see whether archdiocese officials are complying with the state reporting law. "A complete investigation to determine if there have been violations of mandatory child abuse reporting laws any or any criminal child abuse laws by persons associated with the Los Angeles archdiocese is essential," Cooley said. Mahony told Cooley his attorneys know of four active criminal cases in the L.A. archdiocese: an ousted priest in Bell Gardens, a South El Monte deacon who pleaded guilty to felony sex crimes, a priest under investigation for allegedly abusing altar servers and another former priest accused of pinching a girl on the buttocks. Mahony Hopes For 'Open' Discussions With Pope NBC4.TV LOS ANGELES -- Archbishop Roger Mahony said Monday he expects to have "open, frank" discussions with Pope John Paul II when he and other American cardinals meet with the pontiff in the Vatican next week. The pope summoned all U.S. cardinals to Vatican City to discuss the sexual-abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic church. "I welcome the invitation by the Holy See to travel to Rome next week for discussions on the continuing crisis in the church with respect to clergy sexual misconduct and the abuse of minors," Mahony said. Mahony heads the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which with 5 million parishioners is the largest Catholic archdiocese in the nation. The spiritual leader of Southland Catholics said he expects the meetings and discussions in Rome to be "open, frank and without limitations." "A healthy dialogue with officials in the Vatican is essential to repairing the past damage," Mahony said, "and to create a more open and honest way of dealing with any type of misconduct within the Catholic Church for the future." In the coming days, Mahony said he "will be consulting broadly to both develop a thorough analysis of the current problems and issues, and to elaborate a set of proposals to make certain that children and youth in the church are safe." Mahony has found his own actions under scrutiny amid the almost daily revelations of alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests. Last week, Mahony told The Los Angeles Times he regretted not telling Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that a priest he transferred there about 14 years ago was accused of molesting children. Mahony said he should not have assigned Father Michael Wempe to the hospital without informing the facility of the accusations. Mahony had removed Wempe from his parish and ordered him to a New Mexico treatment facility for evaluation and counseling after the allegations surfaced. Wempe, now 62, worked at Cedars-Sinai from 1988 until last month when Mahony forced him to retire under his recent zero-tolerance policy for church employees implicated in abuse cases. Mahony also has been criticized for not publicly naming a handful of clergymen he has removed from their jobs because of alleged sexual abuse. The cardinal himself was the subject of a sexual abuse allegation made by a mentally ill Fresno woman, who claimed Mahony had abused her when she was a minor. Last week, the Fresno Police Department said it found no evidence to support the woman's claim that Mahony molested her at a high school 32 years ago. There are 13 U.S. cardinals, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and eight archdioceses. Three of the cardinals reportedly do not head archdioceses, and two are retired. Mahony Regrets Transfer of Priest By Beth Shuster and Richard Winton Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said Friday he erred when he transferred a priest accused of molesting children to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center about 14 years ago without telling hospital officials about the allegations. In his first public comments on a sex abuse case involving the Los Angeles Archdiocese, Mahony said he never should have assigned Father Michael Wempe to Cedars-Sinai without informing hospital officials that he had removed Wempe from his parish and ordered him to a New Mexico treatment facility for evaluation and counseling. After the treatment, Mahony said, he was told Wempe could be trusted to work as a priest if he were in a supervised job without access to children. Mahony said he was told Wempe could serve in a prison or a hospital. When he assigned Wempe to Cedars-Sinai, Mahony said, he did not know it had a pediatric unit. "I think that was a mistake on our part then to not simply tell them of his background," Mahony told The Times. "That should have been done. I take responsibility for that." In retrospect, Mahony said, he should have forced Wempe to immediately resign after hearing of the abuse allegations. "Fourteen years [later] is so different," said Mahony, who has headed the L.A. Archdiocese since 1985. "If that had been today, he would have been out of the priesthood." Mahony said he did not report Wempe's abuse allegations to police at the time. He assigned Wempe to Cedars-Sinai, where he worked from 1988 until last month, when Mahony forced him to retire under his recent "zero tolerance" policy against maintaining abusers in the church. Mahony said he recently gave Wempe's name to the Los Angeles Police Department to review past allegations against him. Wempe, 62, could not be reached for comment Friday. He had been living at a church parish attached to a school south of Hancock Park, according to a parish directory and interviews, but has since moved to Seal Beach. Cedars-Sinai officials said they learned Friday about past allegations against Wempe. Grace Cheng, spokeswoman for Cedars-Sinai, said officials contacted the archdiocese earlier this week after inquiries from The Times. Representatives of the archdiocese met Friday with top officials of Cedars-Sinai. "There were absolutely no complaints or claims or any issues of impropriety or misconduct" while Wempe was at the hospital, Cheng said. Hospital officials described Wempe as well-liked. Mahony said he attended a luncheon in the chaplain's honor a couple of years ago. A retirement party scheduled for this month was canceled at Wempe's request, officials said. "To the best of our knowledge . . . this particular priest was functioning very well and effectively," Mahony said. "As far as we know, there was never a hint" of any impropriety at the hospital. On Wednesday, two brothers, now grown, filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court alleging they had been sexually abused by Wempe from about 1976 to 1985. The suit also names the archdiocese, alleging that senior priests knew--or should have known--of Wempe's misconduct but failed to intervene. Brothers Say Transfers Didn't Stop the Abuse In an interview Friday with their attorney present, Mark and Lee Bashforth, who asked that their names be published, said the abuse began in a Ventura County parish and continued as Wempe was transferred to other area churches. Both men said they only recently remembered the abuse. "I was 8 or 9 years old and I am staying in the rectory in his room overnight, where there is only one bed," said Lee Bashforth, 32. Archdiocese officials had not seen the lawsuit and would not comment Friday. Mahony said he believed a therapist Wempe saw in 1987 reported the case to authorities, but the cardinal was not certain. A source with knowledge of the case said allegations about Wempe were reported to the archdiocese in 1987 or 1988. The Los Angeles Archdiocese is among a number of Roman Catholic ministries enmeshed in the widening sex abuse scandal. Recent and decades-old accusations of abuse by priests and others affiliated with the church began drawing national attention after highly-publicized cases in Boston earlier this year. The Times reported in March that six to 12 priests had been dismissed by Mahony in February for past sexual abuse of minors. Mahony, under growing pressure to reveal details about the cases, would say only that "a few" priests, almost all of them retired, were involved. On Friday, Mahony continued to refuse to name priests accused of sexual abuse, repeating earlier statements that he has been asked by two victims not to divulge the priests' names. For the first time, however, Mahony clarified the number of known sex abuse cases. He said seven cases allegedly occurred before 1997, four in the last five years and another four were connected to priests who have since left the ministry and cannot be found. There were also a smaller group of allegedly abusive priests who are now dead, Mahony said. In a 90-minute interview, conducted Friday afternoon in the residence receiving room of the new downtown cathedral, Mahony said the cases "gnaw" at him. He said he has trouble sleeping when he thinks about the victims. "I keep reaffirming my own pledge to do everything in my power to make sure no one is harmed by the church," Mahony said. "That's what keeps me up at night: real sadness, sorrow, devastation." Priest Was Trusted Friend of the Family Mark Bashforth said that Wempe, who was a trusted family friend, began molesting him when he was 12. Then Wempe turned his attentions to Lee, who was 8, the brothers claim. They allege they were molested on overnight trips and during other activities. Lee Bashforth said he recalled the abuse, which he had suppressed from his memory, about a month ago, watching coverage of the growing sex scandal. He said he had allowed Wempe to help officiate at his wedding ceremony last year. "Do you think I'd let him anywhere near my wedding, if I had remembered?" Lee said. After recalling the abuse, Lee Bashforth said, he called Mark, 39, and they began to sob together on the telephone. "Because it such a traumatic memory, the mind does not let you recall these things," Mark Bashforth said. "[Wempe] gave a blessing in Lee's wedding ceremony. He did that knowing what he had done to my brother. How could he carry on this charade?" R. Richard Farnell, a Newport Beach attorney representing the brothers, said Wempe had a history of abuse that was ignored by the archdiocese. "The church concealed the truth about this priest for decades, moving him from parish to parish, without any thought for the children," Farnell said. "There are going to be other victims out there. A pedophile does not just do this once."
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