Sex Abuse

L.A. Priest Abuse Cover-Up Revealed

Went on for decades.

For decades, top officials in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles maneuvered to cover up for molesting priests, keep sex-abuse stories quiet, and provide damage control for the church, according to church personnel files. The records filed in a lawsuit against the archdiocese reveal how retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and his aides failed to take meaningful action against priests accused of sex abuse. Priests suspected of abuse were sent away for treatment, but often only after long delays, and many cases slipped under the radar. In a statement Monday, Mahony said he was “naïve” in how he handled the scandals and apologized for his mistakes, saying he keeps the names of 90 abuse victims on index cards and prays for them every day.