{"id":20665,"date":"2013-02-10T19:24:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-11T00:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=20665"},"modified":"2016-09-30T16:59:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T20:59:55","slug":"la-used-cemetery-fund-to-pay-sex-abuse-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/02\/la-used-cemetery-fund-to-pay-sex-abuse-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"LA used cemetery fund to pay sex abuse settlement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

An interesting detail that has not before been made public, from the Los Angeles Times:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pressed to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits, Cardinal\u00a0Roger M. Mahony<\/a>\u00a0turned to one group of Catholics whose faith could not be shaken: the dead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Under his leadership in 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles quietly appropriated $115 million from a cemetery maintenance fund and used it to help pay a landmark settlement with molestation victims.<\/p>\n

The church did not inform relatives of the deceased that it had taken the money, which amounted to 88% of the fund. Families of those buried in church-owned cemeteries and interred in its mausoleums have contributed to a dedicated account for the perpetual care of graves, crypts and grounds since the 1890s.<\/p>\n

Mahony and other church officials also did not mention the cemetery fund in numerous public statements about how the archdiocese planned to cover the $660-million abuse settlement. In detailed presentations to parish groups, the cardinal and his aides said they had cashed in substantial investments to pay the settlement, but they did not disclose that the main asset liquidated was cemetery money.<\/p>\n

In response to questions from The Times, the archdiocese acknowledged using the maintenance account to help settle abuse claims. It said in a statement that the appropriation had \u201cno effect\u201d on cemetery upkeep and enabled the archdiocese \u201cto protect the assets of our parishes, schools and essential ministries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under cemetery contracts, 15% of burial bills are paid into an account the archdiocese is required to maintain for what church financial records describe as \u201cthe general care and maintenance of cemetery properties in perpetuity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Day-to-day upkeep at the archdiocese\u2019s 11 cemeteries and its cathedral mausoleum is financed by cemetery sales revenue separate from the 15% deposited into the fund, spokeswoman Carolina Guevara said. Based on actuarial predictions, it would be at least 187 years before cemeteries are fully occupied and the church started to draw on the maintenance account, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe estimate that Perpetual Care funds will not be needed until after the year 2200,\u201d Guevara wrote in an email.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interesting detail that has not before been made public, from the Los Angeles Times:\u00a0 Pressed to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits, Cardinal\u00a0Roger M. Mahony\u00a0turned to one group of Catholics whose faith could not be shaken: the dead. Under his leadership in 2007, the Archdiocese of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,47],"tags":[531,772],"class_list":["post-20665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","category-sex-abuse-crisis","tag-los-angeles","tag-sex-abuse"],"yoast_head":"\nLA used cemetery fund to pay sex abuse settlement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An interesting detail that has not before been made public, from the Los Angeles Times:\u00a0 Pressed to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to settle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/02\/la-used-cemetery-fund-to-pay-sex-abuse-settlement\/\" 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