Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said Tuesday that he was surprised at the number of victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles over the past 73 years -- 656 according to a new report -- and renewed his pledge that the protection of minors from molesting priests remained "job 1."
Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, said recent actions by the archdiocese to remove a once high-ranking priest from a San Marino parish as well as the decision to reveal the names of 211 priests accused of wrongdoing had provided evidence that the archdiocese was keeping its word.
The report released Tuesday by the archdiocese, which tracked sexual abuse claims from 1931 through last year, is proof of his determination to be "open and transparent," Mahony said. He added that he hoped sexual abuse victims who had not spoken out would scan the names and be encouraged to step forward.
"There are probably other victims out there," Mahony said. "I am hopeful that if they look at this list ... that they will say, 'Oh, I recognize that name. I had a problem but I was afraid to come forward or say anything.' They might have courage now to say, 'I need help, too,' " Mahony said.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley renewed demands that the church produce personnel records of suspected priests. The church has argued that the records are protected by the state's constitutional right to privacy and the 1st Amendment's freedom of religion clause.
"The assertion by the Archdiocese of the pastoral privilege must give way to a more compelling state interest," Cooley said Tuesday.
"That interest is the prosecution of those who would molest children, regardless of their status," he said.
There is currently one criminal case pending against a former priest in Los Angeles County. The names of the accused clergy in the archdiocesan report were drawn from civil lawsuits, criminal filings and direct complaints to the church.
Outside the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, a dozen or so abuse victims called the report only a "baby step," in the right direction. They said the cardinal was trying to take credit for the work of victims who had come forward.
"In truth, Mahony didn't make most of those abusers' names public. Brave survivors and persistent prosecutors did," said Mary Grant, southwest regional director for Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests. "The vast majority of them have already been in the public eye thanks to the courage of victims, not Mahony."
