Cardinal Mahony overhauls archdiocesan abuse panel - Church In Crisis - Roger Mahony, Los Angeles - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, May 3, 2002

On the eve of the meeting between U.S. cardinals and the Vatican, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony said abuse cases in his archdiocese will be investigated by a panel dominated by lay people, not church officials, and that the panel will likely have the power to decide how such cases are handled. Currently, the archdiocese has a nine-member advisory panel but it has little power to affect church policy.

In a series of media interviews, Mahony said he wants to expand the panel's membership to 15 people, including three priests. The 66-year-old cardinal said he wants abuse victims to sit on the panel and help determine church policy.

"What has become obvious to me is that too much of this has been functioning within the close clerical circles," Mahony told The Los Angeles Times. "We're much better served when we involve ... laypeople."

Mahony also plans to create a separate panel to investigate how much money his archdiocese has paid to settle abuse cases. He plans to enlist Catholic schools to teach students how to avoid abusive situations.

In Cincinnati, prosecutors subpoenaed Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk to testify about how his office handled abuse cases. Pilarczyk had said earlier that he would turn over documents only under a grand jury subpoena. An hour before his scheduled appearance, Pilarczyk agreed to hand over all relevant documents and did not have to testify.

In Richmond, Va., Bishop Walter Sullivan formalized a mandatory screening policy for all church volunteers, which had already been in place for church staff.