LA Archdiocese settlement

According to the LAT, neither side is happy with the settlement. So why did they settle? Attorneys and advocates for the victims "were skeptical" about the timing of the settlement, which occurred just before the first case was to be tried. But that's when cases are always settled because only then do opponents face the possibility of losing.

The LAT quotes one victim's advocate as lamenting that Cardinal Mahoney will now not be made to testify. If that was critical then the victims should not have settled. Essentially, they gave up that for money.

Sadly, this entire controversy was always about money, with the lawyers being the greatest beneficiaries. The money will not make the victims whole. Those who did the crimes or covered them up will not suffer monetary loss. Those who will pay in the end -- the congregations that make up the archdiocese -- did nothing wrong.