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Convicted priest talks to investigators in federal probe of L.A. archdiocese

Richard Winton
Posted: August 14, 2009.
Published: August 14, 2009.

Print: L.A. Times

A former Los Angeles priest convicted of molesting two boys has been called before a federal grand jury investigating how the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony handled priest abuse cases, a source told The Times. Former priest Michael Stephen Baker said he informed Mahony two decades ago that he sexually abused children, but he was allowed to remain in the ministry and victimized others.

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Comments (4)

All these cases in all these places. Just what is it about this religion that attracts and/or encourages the priests to go after boys? Isn’t anyone in the social sciences interested in getting to the bottom of why this happens?

posted on August 16, 2009
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Its not the religion that attracts. It is the easy access to children that the automatic authority.

posted on August 17, 2009
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Dear Tilberian, perhaps i can shed some light on the matter.  It goes against every cell in the human body to not want to have sex. Regardless of how many vows a man takes to be a priest those feelings are always there. If this man turns 50 he still has the sexual maturity of a 12 year old boy who has just begun thinking about it. If the 50 year old man wants to eventually

posted on September 2, 2009
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continued from 3

If the 50 year old man wants to eventually act on this impulse to have sex he looks around for a person who is as se xuallymature as him (a 12 year old) because with regards to sex, that’s as old as the 50 year old is. He’s not likely to find a 50 year old woman who is a virgin in his parish. And i would say that his approach to initiating sex with a boy would be very immature and awkward as it would be for a 12 year old boy.  It’s the leaders of the church who enforce this rule of celibacy that should be held accountable. No where in the entire world should any government allow any institution to prohibit a man or woman from having sex. That’s cruelty and it should be addressed.

posted on September 2, 2009
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