The nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese has agreed to pay $720 million to clergy abuse victims over the past decade and released internal files that showed Cardinal Roger Mahony shielded priests and ordered a surrogate to withhold evidence from police, yet Mahony and other archdiocese leaders are unlikely to face criminal charges.
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FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2008 file photo, Cardinal Roger Mahony officiates during Ash Wednesday services at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay $13 million to settle 17 clergy abuse lawsuits, including 11 that involve a visiting Mexican priest who fled prosecution and remains a fugitive more than 25 years later, plaintiffs' attorneys said Tuesday Feb. 18, 2014.
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Esther Miller, a past victim of clergy abuse, points at her perpetrator, Michael Nocita, pictured far left, during a news conference announcing a $13 million settlement of behalf of 17 survivors who were sexually abused by five different perpetrators in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, in Los Angeles. Victims' attorneys, Jeff Anderson, left, and Anthony DeMarco, right, listen.
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Esther Miller, a past victim of clergy abuse listens during a news conference announcing a $13 million settlement of behalf of 17 survivors who were sexually abused by five different perpetrators in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, in Los Angeles. Former Archbishop Roger Mahony's deposition was obtained by The Associated Press and is part of the evidence included in a settlement of abuse claims against Aguilar Rivera and four other priests.
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This Jan. 21, 2013 file photo shows the entrance to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the headquarters for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay $13 million to settle 17 clergy abuse lawsuits, including 11 that involve a visiting Mexican priest who fled prosecution and remains a fugitive more than 25 years later, plaintiffs' attorneys said Tuesday Feb. 18, 2014.
