Confidential personnel records from five Catholic religious orders in Los Angeles, California, were released to victims of clergy sex abuse on Wednesday.
The papers, which were released under the terms of a $660 million settlement agreement reached in 2007, pertain to a dozen priests, brothers and nuns accused of sexual misconduct in the landmark 2007 settlement.
An additional 45 religious orders will release the personnel files of their accused clergy by this fall, reports said.
News reports added that the 1,700 pages of documents differ markedly from those disclosed in January by the Los Angeles Archdiocese to comply with the terms of its settlement with all victims.
The archdiocese handed over materials reflecting Cardinal Roger M. Mahony’s meticulous record-keeping of molestation claims and treatment of accused offenders.
Although the archdiocese took the lead in the litigation of sex abuse cases, about half of the alleged perpetrators belonged to religious orders, such as the Jesuits, Salesians and Vincentians, and answered to those orders rather than the local archbishop.
The papers released this week cover the Marianists, the Benedictines, the Oblates and two orders of nuns.
The fact that the files don’t reflect the misconduct alleged in civil lawsuits doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, said attorney Ray Boucher, counsel of the victims who posted the documents on his firm’s website.
“Much of this went unreported,” he said. “You’re talking about kids that were terrorized and frightened in so many different ways, with no place and no one to turn to.”
Sources
Image:Vedict Justia