Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Los Angeles auxiliary bishop following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a child in the 1990s, officials said Wednesday.
Pasadena police recommended in 2002 that the man be charged with committing a lewd act on a child, but prosecutors declined to bring charges over a lack of evidence.
The current archbishop of Los Angeles said the archdiocese learned of the claim in 2005. The archdiocese forwarded the complaint to the Vatican office handling sex abuse cases.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith imposed precautionary measures against the man and a further investigation by the archdiocese’s independent review board found the allegation to be credible.
The 69-year-old has “consistently denied any wrongdoing.” The archdiocese said it had received no other allegations against the man.
The alleged misconduct occurred while the man was a parish priest in the 1990s and the claim was never directly brought to the archdiocese.
The resignation comes during a year in which the clerical abuse scandal has exploded anew.
Hours after the man’s resignation was announced, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said her office found 500 more Catholic clergy accused of sexually abusing children than the state’s archdioceses have publicly identified.
Sadly, priests, bishops, cardinals, and other clergy members can abuse their positions of trust. If your sexual abuser is or was in a position of authority in the Catholic Church, you are certainly not alone. At Whittel & Melton, our Florida Sexual Abuse Injury Attorneys represent sexual abuse victims of all ages, including children, adults, and adults who were abused when they were children by teachers, coaches, priests, scout leaders, neighbors, relatives, or any other adults.
Our goal is to hold sexual abusers, their supervisors, and the organizations they work for accountable. While nothing we do can turn back the clock to undo the harm that a sexual abuser inflicts, the civil legal system provides one remedy, which is monetary compensation to the victim/survivor. We will fight aggressively to seek a sense of justice on your behalf.
We want to help empower you and make the world a safer place for others. Please call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online if you have been the victim of sexual abuse. Your consultation with us is free and you will not be charged any fees unless we recover money for you.