Settlement reached in Catholic Church sex abuse case but victims still want real change

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A press conference held earlier today in downtown Los Angeles confirmed rumors that a settlement for $10 million, one of the largest in the history of the Roman Catholic church, was announced in the child sex abuse cases against Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Archdiocese of LA, and former priest Michael Baker.

Michael Duran said he was around 11-years-old the first time he was molested by former priest Michael Baker, but today he shared that he felt some vindication.

Despite the settlement, Duran’s attorney, John Manly believes there is still justice to be served. Manly said that in 1986, Baker went to Cardinal Mahony and told him that he had abused children.

However, Manly said that the Cardinal kept this a secret until 2000. Baker eventually went to prison, but Mahony was never punished.

Manly believes the grand jury in LA needs to reconvene to investigate the cardinal’s role in the case and address how law enforcement failed to catch this problem sooner.

“If that does not occur, this will happen again,” Manly said, “There is a cancer in this Archdiocese and there is a cancer in this institution and it needs to be cutout.”

Cardinal Mahony was in Rome to help elect the new Pope, but Manly hopes that when he returns, he is greeted by a new investigation.

While Duran no longer practices Catholicism, he offered some advice to Pope Francis on how to stop this issue.

“I think he needs to restore the faith of the millions of the believers who still follow the church and I just hope those believers hold him accountable.”

Before today’s news conference, the Archdiocese of LA issued a statement apologizing to the victims. They apologized for their mistakes in handling the case and took responsibility for the harm inflicted on the victims.