Cardinal ignores role in scandal, says attorney in sex-abuse case

Cardinal ignores role in scandal, says attorney in sex-abuse case

By Rick Brewer
Record Staff Writer
July 17, 2007 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - The Stockton lawyer who helped litigate the largest settlement against the Roman Catholic Church for priestly sexual abuse of children said Monday that he still awaits an apology from Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of the Los Angeles Diocese, for his role in the long-standing scandal.

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"He apologizes for everything and everybody else," Drivon said. "He doesn't apologize for covering this up, for putting people through grinding litigations for years or for moving priests around the diocese without alerting anybody that he was sending them a predator.

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"I'd like to believe the worst of it is over, but I'm not confident in that," Lakeland said. "The fundamental questions that remain are, Have the bishops learned anything? And if so, what?"

Lakeland, who has written two books on the role of laity in the Catholic Church, said bishops such as Mahony and Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law have been clearly at fault for stonewalling plaintiffs, hiding evidence and transferring priests charged with abuse.

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