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October 17, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 18Oakland,
CA
L.A. Archdiocese releases files of accused priests
Summaries
of the personnel records of 126 clergy who served in the Los Angeles Archdiocese
were released Oct. 12 as part of settlement talks with lawyers for more
than 500 people who claim they were abused by priests in the national’s
largest Catholic archdiocese.
The records, released after nearly three years of legal wrangling, cover
priests who were ordained as far back as the 1920s.
Archdiocesan and plaintiff attorneys had agreed to release the information,
but lawyers for some of the accused priests had succeeded in blocking
publication, arguing it would violate their clients’ privacy rights.
Last month, an appellate court ordered the summaries to be released.
The documents offer details in numerous cases, though much of the information
has already been published.
Archdiocesan attorney J. Michael Hennigan told the Associated Press that
in many cases counseling was offered to the accused clergymen.
Generally, they were removed from ministry as Church officials’
understanding of sexual abuse increased, he said.
The files show that in many cases the Church provided years of therapy
for some of the priests.
The archdiocese has posted nearly 150 pages of summaries from the clergy
files on its website: www.la-archdiocese.org
