Archdiocese of Mexico says case closed against Cardinal Rivera

Mexico City, Mexico, Oct 23, 2007 / 09:37 am

The Archdiocese of Mexico, in an editorial published by its official newspaper Desde la Fe, said this week the lawsuit against Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera accusing him of covering up sexual abuse by a Mexican priest is a now a closed case, after a court in Los Angeles dismissed the lawsuit.

“Thus have the diabolical intentions of those who sued (the cardinal) over an alleged international conspiracy of the Catholic Church to protect delinquent priests have fallen to pieces,” the article stated.

Cardinal Rivera was the subject of a lawsuit in Los Angeles by Joaquin Aguilar, who claimed that the cardinal covered up abuse by Father Nicolas Aguilar, who was a priest from the Archdiocese of Mexico working in California. 

The article called Aguilar a “deceitful young person” and said his lawsuit, brought by “unscrupulous lawyers” represented “an abuse against the cardinal, the faithful and all Mexicans.” It emphasized that in the wake of the incident, the Church must analyze what measures need to be taken to repair the damage that has been done, especially with regards to how it has affected young people.

The editorial praised U.S. Judge Eliu Berle for his meticulous ruling, noting as well that legal scholars say an appeal of the ruling would not likely succeed.  “In the end,” it stated, “officials did not find any reason to judge the case in a U.S. court and they decided that the issue—if it has any merit at all—should be under the competence of the Mexican justice system.”