MAHONY GIVES LAITY MORE CLOUT OVER ABUSE.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Responding to the church's widening sexual abuse scandal, Cardinal Roger Mahony announced on Thursday the creation of an oversight board with broadened powers to deal with misconduct by clergy.

The 13-member Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board, chosen mainly from the laity, will deal with all accusations of misconduct involving Roman Catholic clergy members in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. It will replace the archdiocese's Sexual Abuse Advisory Board and will have broader authority to make recommendations to Mahony.

``This is being done to administer discipline in the archdiocese and to make sure all our churches are safe for children and young people,'' Mahony said at a news conference.

The panel, to be chaired by retired Superior Court Judge Richard Byrne, will include two clergy members and will have its own staff to investigate allegations against priests either working for the archdiocese or assigned to the Southern California area.

While not serving as a criminal review board, the panel will ensure that all allegations of misconduct are reported to local authorities, Byrne said.

Mahony said the panel will be able to make recommendations directly to him on whether a priest should be unfrocked, placed on leave or subjected to other action.

Mahony said he expects the board to meet monthly to deal with all accusations of sexual misconduct by priests, involving children and adults, as well as any other complaints.

The panel also will develop its own standards on cases and make an annual review of the archdiocese's policies to ensure they are up to date.

Mahony said members of the panel, in addition to Byrne, include William and Judi Arnold, whose sons were molested years ago; Dr. Nanette DeFuentes, a psychologist who also had been sexually abused; Dr. Kevin Jablonski, a psychologist; Sister Diane Donoghue, director of the Esperanza Housing Corp.; Dr. James McGough, a professor of clinical psychology; and the Rev. Jarlath Cunnane of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Los Angeles.

Mahony said he expects to name the remaining members in the next few weeks.

Churches in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, like others across the nation, have been subjected to ongoing allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests and to criticism that superiors within the church often shielded priests.

American bishops meeting last week in Dallas announced a zero-tolerance strategy for abuse by priests and others in ministry roles. The new policy requires allegations of abuse to be reported to authorities and steps to be taken to unfrock priests or strip them of their religious functions.

Mahony has been a leader in supporting that action.

Archdiocese officials said the panel will determine how far back it will go in looking at cases and will want to be careful not to interfere in any criminal investigation. However, there are no limits on what cases it decides to examine.

The Daily News reported on Thursday that 115 complaints have been filed against 61 priests involving molestation accusations. Officials in the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said they are creating special teams to deal with the number of complaints.

Archdiocese officials said Mahony would have no comment on the cases.

Byrne, who served on the Sexual Abuse Advisory Board, said he also does not know the number of complaints involving priests. However, he said, he believes some accusations are several years old and might involve priests who are no longer alive.

Byrne said there will be no church equivalent of a criminal-law statute of limitations on how far back the board may look, and that the panel will investigate each accusation.

``An accusation of sexual misconduct is easy to make,'' Byrne cautioned, ``and it is difficult to disprove once it is made. It creates an aura of suspicion.''

It is for that reason that the panel's proceedings will be confidential, and the names of the accused and victims will be kept private, he said.

Byrne said the panel will be able to make its recommendations involving priests directly to Mahony rather than go through other church officials. It also will have its own staff to offer a level of independence it hasn't had in the past.

The panel will not be able to take action on its own due to canonical law and procedures, leaving that authority in the hands of Mahony.

The Catholic Church is different from most other churches in that priests are assigned to a parish, and individual parish congregations are not able to hire or fire their clerics, Byrne said.

William Arnold said he believes the new panel will have much more independence than the previous board on which he also served.

``This board has some teeth in it, and we will be able to aggressively review all allegations - past and present,'' Arnold said. ``With the old board, we didn't necessarily go back and review old cases.

Asked whether he believed there were a larger number of priests involved in misconduct, Arnold said: ``One is a larger number. It's our job to deal with this.''

Byrne said, as a practicing Catholic with children and grandchildren, his concerns also are personal.

``I don't want my grandchildren out there with sexual predators,'' Byrne said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Cardinal Roger Mahony on Thursday introduces an oversight board with broader powers to investigate accusations of clergy misconduct.

(2) Retired Judge Richard Byrne, center, heads a new archdiocesan board on clergy misconduct.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer