WOC Statement on the $660 million settlement for child sexual abuse in Los Angeles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2007

CONTACT: Nidza Vázquez: office +1 (703) 352-1006

WOC Statement on the $660 million settlement for child sexual abuse in Los Angeles

A victory for survivors reiterates the need for the Catholic Church to be more transparent, accountable and inclusive.

Washington, DC—Aisha Taylor, executive director of Women’s Ordination Conference, issued the following statement:

“I pray that the survivors of sexual abuse in Los Angeles will be honored by this settlement and able to heal and move forward with their lives.

“The immensity of this settlement and the number of survivors involved—more than 500—is a gross manifestation of the problems of our church. We need structural change now. The clergy needs to be accountable to its members. Catholics need to have a say in the decisions that affect them. The hierarchy needs to open its doors to women. Change is absolutely necessary for the church to recover from this shame and depraved behavior.

“If women, married and celibate, were able to be priests, they would help make this structural change a reality. For too long, the hierarchy has been a ‘good old boys club’ that has had nearly complete control over the one billion-member Roman Catholic Church. This must not continue any longer. Opening the priesthood to be more representative of the Catholic population would be a huge change in itself, and it would help precipitate the structural changes that are needed.

“The Vatican’s ban on ordaining women is not consistent with Jesus’ ministry and it is a form of sexism. It also contradicts its own research; in 1976, the Pontifical Biblical Commission determined that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit women’s ordination. In the U.S., over 64% of Catholics want women to be ordained, and we know of over 400 women who feel called by God to ordination. There is every reason to ordain women and no sound reason not to.

"Today, we support the brave people who came forward to tell their stories about the clergy they trusted. We also support the Catholics, including members of the clergy, who have worked diligently to make changes in the church to protect children. I pray this settlement will bring about healing and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church.”

For more information, please contact Nidza Vazquez, program director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, at +1 (703) 352-1006, nvazquez@womensordination.org.

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Founded in 1975, the Women’s Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest national organization working solely for women’s ordination and a renewed, inclusive Roman Catholic Church. For more information, visit WOC’s website at www.womensordination.org.