Another Coverup, Another "Good" Shepherd

[CN: Clergy abuse, rape, rape culture institutional cover-ups.]

In news that will surprise no-one, evidence has emerged that Los Angeles Catholic officials actively conspired to cover up rape by pedophile priests as late as 1987:

The records show that Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony, who is now retired, and his top adviser on child sex abuse cases, Monsignor Thomas Curry, worked with other Church officials in 1987 to send priests accused of abuse out of state to avoid prosecution, the newspaper said.

Mahony and Curry also tried to keep pedophile priests from confessing to therapists who would be obligated to report the crimes, the newspaper said, citing the records, which were released on Los Angeles Times' website.

Curry even suggested in 1987 they send a pedophile priest to "a lawyer who is also a psychiatrist" to put the priest's "reports under the protection of privilege," the Times reported. In another 1987 case, Curry cautioned Mahony against returning a child abuser to the Los Angeles parishes where he molested children.

"There are numerous - maybe twenty - adolescents and young adults that (the priest) was involved with in a first degree felony manner," Curry wrote of one accused molester. "The possibility of one of these seeing him is simply too great."

Mahoney, as noted, is now retired. Curry now serves as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where he supervises the Sanata Barbara Pastoral Region. In addition, he chairs the USCCB's Comittee on Education. He also fancies himself a Constitutional scholar.

Needless to say, I cannot fathom why anyone would give a tiddle for the legal, constitutional or moral opinions of a man who actively used his knowledge of the law to shield pedophiles. Nor why you'd want as an overseer of Catholic education a moral reprobate who callously fretted more about teenagers identifying their rapist than about their possible re-victimization.

And I truly, truly wonder how long the Roman Catholic church structure can continue when its worst administrators keep getting re-assigned and promoted, without an apparent jot of awareness that these are not men who should be in charge of vulnerable human beings.

Hint: the crozier is supposed to be used against the wolves, gentlemen. Not the sheep.

[Commenting note: Please take care in comments to distinguish between ordinary Catholics and actions and opinions of their leadership.]