The Plaintiff Attorney referred to in the L.A. Times blog below is, of course, Jeff Anderson, of St. Paul, MN, former public defender, digging up obscure Acts from 1789 to get the international scope of these crimes out in the open, so the world can find a way to prosecute these guys globally. In this Times blog piece, he sites the 1789 act, but when I read the complaint it did not mention the 300 year old act. The Complaint DOES cite the UN International Criminal Code and Chile Rights Act.
City of Angels Needs A Staff of Reporters and Proofreaders to Keep Up with all this stuff: This is copy and pasted directly from L.A. Times Plaza Blog
City of Angels Needs A Staff of Reporters and Proofreaders to Keep Up with all this stuff: This is copy and pasted directly from L.A. Times Plaza Blog
An unnamed Mexican man filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles this week against two of the most well-known and influential Catholic cardinals in North America: L.A.'s Roger Mahony and Mexico City's Norberto Rivera Carrera. Using an obscure law that enables foreigners to seek justice in the United States against human rights abuses committed elsewhere, plaintiff "Juan Doe" alleges that Mahony and Rivera ignored claims of sexual abuse against Father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera for more than 20 years.
The cardinals shuffled Aguilar between parishes in Mexico and Southern California while allegations piled up that he had abused dozens of boys, the suit says.
From The L.A. Times:
The Mexican-born Aguilar first came to the attention of police in late 1986, after he was beaten by several attackers. Authorities speculated that the attack was in retaliation for his alleged abuse of young boys during overnight stays at the rectory in the Diocese of Tehuacan, Mexico. A month later, then-Bishop Rivera wrote to Mahony to offer Aguilar for placement in a Los Angeles ministry, with a coded reference to the priest being problematic, the lawsuit alleges.
The suit was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which was enacted in 1789. Legal experts have cast doubt on the viability of the suit, but the plaintiff's attorney says international law should cover sexual abuse in such claims. Reporter Carol J. Williams offers more details, with video, in this post.
The whereabouts of Aguilar, now defrocked, are unknown. Rivera on Thursday dismissed the suit as the work of "opportunists." Tod M. Tamberg, Mahony's spokesman in L.A., called the allegations "preposterous and without foundation."
*****
NOTE:
NORBERTO RIVERA CARRERA
is the Archbishop of Mexico. The Perpetrator here is:
FATHER NICHOLAS AGUILAR RIVERA
The Victim (Unnamed here but named elsewwhere) also has Rivera in his name
Watch City of Angels confuse those two in upcoming months, please, we need staff, fact checkers, editors, reporters...
.
For a start, read:
Alien Tort Statute - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In September 1997, 13 Burmese villagers filed suit against Unocal and their parent company, the Union Oil Company of California under the ATCA for alleged ...
Recent Use of ATS
Conviction of Chuckie Taylor
Charles McArthur Emmanuel (also known as "Chuckie Taylor" or "Taylor Jr."), the son of Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia is a U.S. citizen, born in Boston to Charles Taylor Sr.'s college girlfriend. Raised by his mother in Florida until he was 17, Taylor Jr. traveled to Liberia in 1997 to live with his father. While in Liberia, Taylor Jr. became the commander of the infamously violent Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), commonly known in Liberia as the "Demon Forces."
In 2006, U.S. officials arrested Taylor Jr. upon entering the United States (via the Miami International Airport) and the Department of Justice later charged him based on torture he committed in Liberia. On October 20, 2008, a federal jury convicted Taylor Jr. of multiple counts of torture and conspiracy to torture. On January 9, 2009, he was sentenced to 97 years in prison.
BACKGROUND: (Posted these Sat. Apr. 24)
Mexico City archbishop Norberto Rivera named in LA abuse suitLos Angeles Times (blog) - 1 day ago
... against two of the most well-known and influential Catholic cardinals in North America: LA's Roger Mahony and Mexico City's Norberto Rivera Carrera. ...
Video: Lawyers Sue LA, Mexico City Cardinals Over Abuse The Associated Press
Mexico church bars priest with abuse conviction - The Associated Press
Mexican Archdiocese Blasts Abuse-Related Suit Against Cardinal - Latin American Herald Tribune
Washington Post -
Belfast Telegraph
all 134 news articles »
MORE
Mexican Plaintiff Sues CardinalsWall Street Journal - Ashby Jones
The suit, filed in Los Angeles federal court by an unnamed plaintiff, alleges that Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and Cardinal Norberto Rivera of ...
Attorneys sue LA, Mexico City cardinals over abuse - Tampabay.com
California: 2 Archdioceses Sued - New York Times
US, Mexican cardinals sued over priest sex abuse - AFP
The Press Association
all 119 news articles »
.
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Alien Tort Statute is in the Judiciary Act of 1789
From 1789 until 1980, only two courts had based jurisdiction on the ATS In 1980, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, which "paved the way for a new conceptualization of the ATS. Filartiga held that violations of contemporary international norms, including violations of modern international human rights are actionable under the ATS.
Since Filartiga, jurisdiction under the ATS has been upheld in dozens of cases. The only United States Supreme Court case directly addressing the ATS is the 2004 case Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain. The Sosa Court upheld the applicability of the ATS to actions committed abroad that violate contemporary customary international law, but held that the recognition of new causes of action should be subject to "vigilant doorkeeping."
The statute has been the subject of a vigorous debate in 2009 in legal, business, and human rights arenas arising out of cases in Nigeria and South Africa. Some have called for the US Congress to eliminate the statute while others have argued for a multilateral solution through the OECD or UN.
FROM ANDERSON
ADVOCATES
Law Firm Website:
Documents regarding Nicolas Aguilar
Declaration of Cardinal Rivera in Spanish and English.
Nicholas Aguilar Timeline 2010
Juan Doe 1 Complaint against Cardinal Mahoney, Cardinal Rivera and The Diocese of Tehuacan
Spanish translation of Juan Doe 1 Complaint
July 2009 News Article Annoucement of Laicization of Nicolas Rivera
Photo of Nicolas AguilarRivera
QUOTES OF NOTE:
"At different times, many have come to sleep, youngsters from the communities ofEsperanza, .from Tehuacan, from Cordan,
from [illegible], from Santa Isabel and from Cuesta Blanca." (Parish Employee, re 1986 incident in
Cuecnopalan, Puebla, Mexico.)
MORE:
January 27, 1987
TO:
His Excellency Dr. Norberto Rivera Carrera
His Most Dignitary Bishop ofTehuacan
Tehuacan, Puebla.
His Excellency the Bishop:
Due to health concerns, effective this date, I bring to his Excellency the IRREVOCABLE RESIGNATION fl:om the Parish of San Sebastian Martir, of Cuacnopa1an, Puebla.
Hoping that this resignation is accepted, I hereby remain, cordially at your service and in Christ,
[signature] Nicolas Aguilar R. Presbyter
Presbyter Nicolas Aguilar Rivera
MORE:
March 23, 1987.
His Excellency the Archbishop
Mr. Rogelio Mahony
1531 West Ninth Street
Lo Angeles, CA 90015-1194
U.S.A.
CONFIDENTIAL
His Excellency:
Warmest greetings wishing you great blessings froni our Lord.
I would like to introduce to you Presbyter Nicolas Aguilar Rivera who asked for a one year leave of absence from this Dioceses and work at the Dioceses of Los Angeles, California.
Father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera was performing admirably at his work in San Sebastian Cuacnopalan. He is a priest esteemed by his fellow priests and by the town he served.
What caused his departure from the Parish was a pretty serious physical aggression, it is suspected that behind the conflicts which provoked this physical aggression there are problems ofhomosexuality. There are several accusations of homosexuality against the Priest none have been proven, everything is just accusations and suspicions.
I take this opportunity to entrust myself to your prayers and again tell you that I remain your brother and servant.
Norberto Rivera C.
Bishop ofTehuacan
c.c. Monsignor Tomas Curry, General Vicar of the Clergy.
RIV 00026
CONFIDENTIAL
MORE:
January II, 1988
Most Reverend Norberto Rivera C.
Bishop of Tehuacan
Obispado de Tehuacan
'Aparta~o Num. 137
75700
Tehuacan, Mexico
Dear Bishop Rivera~
It is with great sorrow that I write to you, but it has come to our attention that several, families in 9ur Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Los Angeles, where Father Nicolas Aguilar-Rivera served for some months on his first coming here, accuse him of acting very inappropriately with their children. Two families have already &poken to the pastor of that parish, and he 'knows of another family that has not' yet approached him.
According to the civil law here, the accusations must be, reported to the- authorities. I spoke to Father Aguilar-Rivera on saturday, January 9, and told him that until a full investigation has taken place he may not serve in this Archdiocese and that his faculties have been witharawn.
I believe he plans to stay with some family members here and then return to Mexico.
I regret having to inform you of this, but I believe you would
want to know of this information.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Thomas L. Curry, Vicar for Clergy
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(Re above letter, the L.A. Archdiocese knows Nicolas should be reported to the authorities, so he let him go stay with relatives in town until he can escape to Mexico instead.)
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