The L.A. Archdiocese has paid $740 million in settlements.
The Los Angeles Archdiocese has updated its list of clergy who have been accused of molesting children after a decade.[/tweetit] This action was a direct fallout after there was an uproar about how the Vatican responded to allegations of abuse against their own flock. The list contains the full names of the 54 priests and deacons along with other men who have faced “credible” sexual misconduct allegations.
L.A. Archdiocese Releases Updated List of Clergy Accused of Abusing Children[/tweetthis]
The decision to make public the names of the guilty clergy was made by American bishops after a Pennsylvania report was released, showing years of child sex abuse cover-ups. The toll is estimated to be in excess of 1,000 victims. The statement released December 6 reveals that among the 54 listed, 27 and two others were perpetually banned from the ministry for prior investigations of abuse.
The naming of the perpetrators was a long time coming. The archdiocese, for almost 20 years, has been rocked by allegations of church leaders mishandling cases of abuse done by priests. The Catholic Church has also been accused of moving clergy who were suspected of criminal activity to other parishes instead of punishing them. Law enforcement was also not informed in such cases. A record amount of $740 million was paid by the L.A. Archdiocese as settlement payments to victims.
California doing this right as I see it…. https://t.co/jpqp63heoK
— Cynthia Stephens (@cynthiastphns) December 6, 2018
Abuse victims' advocates were not impressed. They pointed out the action taken by the Catholic Church at this stage was mostly symbolic, and the institution could do much better when it comes to helping victims and protecting children. They highlighted the fact that a staggering $86,000 was spent by the California Catholic Conference to oppose a bill which would have provided childhood sexual assault survivors increased the time to file cases against people who totally failed to stop the abuse.