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These Memos From LA Catholic Church Leaders About the Abuse Scandal Are Awful

These Memos From LA Catholic Church Leaders About the Abuse Scandal Are Awful

Newly unearthed 25-year-old memos between Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and Msgr. Thomas J. Curry—the archdiocese’s chief advisor on sex abuse cases—are the strongest evidence yet that the nation’s largest Catholic diocese worked to hide its priests’ sexual abuses from the law. Also, they are awful. In them, Curry suggests not allowing the victims to see therapists and shipping the priests out of state to avoid investigators. There are also discussions about the unlikelihood that the boys would go to police, given their immigration status. Upon the release of the memos, Mahony made a statement in which he wrote, “I have a 3×5 card for every victim I met with on the altar of my small chapel. I pray for them every single day. As I thumb through those cards, I often pause as I am reminded of each personal story and the anguish that accompanies that life story. It remains my daily and fervent prayer that God’s grace will flood the heart and soul of each victim, and that their life-journey continues forward with ever greater healing. I am sorry.” In coming weeks, prosecutors expect that the private records of more than 75 other accused abusers will be made public …

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