The cases involving ex-priest Michael Baker
span 26 years from 1974 to 2000. Two were set for trial next month. A
judge had said attorneys for the plaintiffs could pursue punitive
damages at trial.
The cases were settled this week.
Two of the claims named Mahony and alleged he didn't do enough to stop Baker from abusing children, said plaintiff's attorney John Manly.
Mahony retired as Los Angeles archbishop in 2011 and was rebuked by
his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez, last month after confidential
church files showed the cardinal worked behind the scenes to shield
molesting priests and protect the church from scandal.
Mahony, who is in Rome helping select the next pope, was aware of the settlement, said J. Michael Hennigan, an archdiocese attorney.
"We have for a long, long time said that we made serious mistakes
with Michael Baker and we had always taken the position in these cases
that whatever Baker did we were responsible for," he said. "That was
never an issue."
Baker could not be reached for comment.
Two of the plaintiffs, a pair of brothers, will get $4 million each,
and the two others will get nearly $1 million each, Manly said.
Confidential files show that Baker met with Mahony in 1986 and confessed to molesting two boys over a nearly seven-year period.
Mahony removed Baker from ministry and sent him for psychological
treatment, but the priest returned to ministry the following year with a
doctor's recommendation that he be defrocked immediately if he spent
any time with minors.
Despite several documented instances of being alone with boys, the
priest wasn't removed from ministry until 2000 after serving in nine
parishes.
Baker was convicted of child molestation in 2007 and paroled in 2011.
Authorities believe Baker may have abused more than 20 children in his 26-year career.
"The person who could have stopped this in its tracks and prevented
three out of four of these children from being sexually assaulted is now
sitting in Rome voting for the next vicar of Christ," said Manly. "I
find that terribly troubling."
Mahony has apologized repeatedly for his handling of clergy abuse
cases. The cardinal was sequestered for the papal conclave and could not
be reached for comment Tuesday.
The archdiocese settled more than 500 clergy abuse lawsuits in 2007 for a record-breaking $660 million.
Baker was charged in 2002 with 34 counts of molestation involving six
victims, but those charges were dismissed because they fell outside the
criminal statute of limitations.
http://news.yahoo.com/la-archdiocese-settles-4-sex-abuse-cases-10m-210123161.html