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Investigating Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal; Weekend Movie Preview

Aired December 10, 2004 - 10:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We want to let you know what we're watching for you. This is Attorney General John Ashcroft. He will likely be replaced by White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez. But not before he gives and gets a send-off. And that's exactly what they're doing for him right now. These are live pictures from the Justice Department. We're watching it for news and we'll turn it around for you the moment it happens.
Carol, back over to you.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime we want to talk about the investigation into the Catholic Church. It is a CNN investigative unit exclusive. It is a question at the heart of the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. Did church officials place the interests of their own institution ahead of their worshipers? Today, a CNN investigation into allegations of cover-ups and priest shuffling within the largest Catholic archdiocese in America. They are cases that have left lifetime emotional scars on the victims claiming abuse.

CNN's Drew Griffin reports from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His story has not been told for 23 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked and he's coming back.

GRIFFIN: He was just 16 at the time from the Philippines living in Stockton, California. He wanted to improve his English. His mother thought a Catholic priest would be a good tutor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then Father O'Grady...

GRIFFIN: But Father Oliver O'Grady, it turns out, had more in mind than tutoring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's touching me and fondling me and he was touching my private area.

GRIFFIN: It is a story told again and again by those accusing clergy of sexual abuse. What makes this account different is that he says he has told the awful story before in 1981 right after he says he was molested by Father O'Grady. He says he told his mother, told a local Filipino priest and then went directly to the bishop of Stockton and told him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then we went to this office there to meet Father Mahony.

GRIFFIN: Father Roger Mahony, then Bishop of Stockton, the same Roger Mahony who is now cardinal of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father Mahony sat down on the chair, sat down and looked at me and he asked me directly if anybody else knows about this. He asked me, "Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure nobody else know about this?"

GRIFFIN: Thursday morning, Cardinal Roger Mahony sat down in his Los Angeles residence with CNN and said he does not believe the victim's story.

CARDINAL ROGER MAHONY, LOS ANGELES ARCHDIOCESE: As far as I know it didn't happen. I'd remember. I would have acted on it like I did act on another case that same year. So, to have someone tell me that with his mother present and not do anything about it is contradictory.

GRIFFIN: But this accuser says he remembers the meeting with Mahony in detail, including repeated questions about whether authorities were told.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you report it to the police or did you tell anyone or your teacher at school, all right? He didn't ask if I was OK. I thought he was going to take a type of action. When he told me that he will investigate it, I kind of feel kind of a sense of relief.

GRIFFIN: Father Oliver O'Grady remained a priest and, in 1985, was promoted by Mahony to pastor, continued to seek out young boys and even young girls, molest them and move on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury have you reached a verdict?

GRIFFIN: In 1993, Father Oliver O'Grady pled guilty to four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior with other children. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. After serving seven years, he was deported to Ireland.

O'Grady told CNN he does not recall the case of the young Filipino boy. Roger Mahony went on to become cardinal of the largest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the United States and investigators say continued to cover up and deny any involvement in a huge sex abuse scandal growing inside his church.

BILL HODGMAN, LOS ANGELES DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This was staggering to me, to my investigators. Quite frankly we were overwhelmed in the initial months of pursuing this investigation.

GRIFFIN: Bill Hodgman heads the sex crimes division for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. For the past two and a half years he has investigated 100 allegations of priests abusing children and an archdiocese he says that has been trying to keep it a secret.

HODGMAN: There is a generalized sense that has been reflected back to me by many of a feeling that there has been concealment and cover-up here in the County of Los Angeles by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

GRIFFIN: Investigators say one of the most notorious examples of cover-up by the archdiocese involves another former priest Kevin Barmesy (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says that you molested them, is that true? Kevin, is that true?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the church itself was down through there. That used to be like...

GRIFFIN: Michael Moylan moved with his family from the Midwest to Tucson, Arizona in 1986. He was a high school junior.

MICHAEL MOYLAN, ALLEGED ABUSE VICTIM: This was the rectory right. This is where the priests lived.

GRIFFIN: The family was Catholic. The children were in need of new friends. The solution was to find a church.

MOYLAN: And Father Kevin Barmesy was the associate pastor up there and he was in charge of the youth group.

GRIFFIN: At the time, Michael Moylan thought Barmesy was his new best friend. Looking back now do you feel like you were being reeled in by a real predator?

MOYLAN: Oh, definitely, definitely. Yes, he -- he knew enough about us as kids and our weaknesses, you know. He knew how Catholic I was, so yes, he was very skilled, you know. He -- he knew exactly what he was looking for and what he was doing, reeled us in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think strung along is a better term.

GRIFFIN: Their accounts are almost identical. He got you drunk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, he did.

MOYLAN: He sexually assaulted me, yes. That's difficult to talk about still.

GRIFFIN: The archdiocese itself has acknowledged that six other credible victims have come forward to also identify Kevin Barmesy as a pedophile and the church now admits it had a problem with this priest from day one.

In 1983, shortly after Barmesy's ordination, police in Los Angeles were brought in to investigate claims by a young boy that Barmesy had abused him. According to the Los Angeles and Tucson diocese the parents were told Father Barmesy would get treatment so he would not hurt other children.

(on camera): But that's not the way it turned out. While Barmesy did receive some treatment, the Los Angeles Archdiocese shipped its problem priest to Tucson, Arizona.

(voice-over): Roger Mahoney was not in Los Angeles when the Barmesy deal was made but for years after being dispatched to Tucson, Barmesy would petition the cardinal asking he be allowed to return to Los Angeles. Each time the cardinal wouldn't allow it unless Barmesy received further treatment.

Mahoney: When he asked to come back her I said no because the family doesn't want that.

GRIFFIN (on camera): At any time, I mean you must have been aware of this person's past, were you concerned that he was in Tucson with little or no restrictions, in fact in charge of several youth groups?

Mahoney: Well, again, I don't think I ever met the man. This all was arranged before I came here. He was supposed to be seeing a doctor. We have his name in reports and the doctor was maintaining that he was doing well in treatment there.

So, again, that was the protocol of the '80s. You're talking about the '80s. That's where he was and that's the treatment he was receiving. Today, 2004, he'd be out of ministry immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles we now know knew about him and rather than having him prosecuted in Los Angeles, shipped him here without missing a beat. He walked right into a parish, right into the youth group, right into many people's lives, many children's lives and from there he was moved again and moved again and he was allowed to hurt many people.

GRIFFIN: This past February, Cardinal Mahoney issued a report to his faithful on more than seven decades of clergy abuse in Los Angeles. Mahoney cited the church's misunderstanding of the nature of the problem and explained that pedophilia had been wrongly regarded as a moral weakness and a sin. He did not believe offenders, once confronted, would offend again. He admits it was a mistake.

The report also calls for openness but prosecutor Bill Hodgman says the archdiocese has been anything but, fighting subpoenas and refusing to hand over potential evidence. The archdiocese says that's because their counseling of priests must remain private to be effective.

Hodgman says the number of cases involving priests and sexual abuse continues to grow. He is now trying to determine if all these cases add up to evidence of a larger crime of conspiracy to deceive.

HODGMAN: We will go where the evidence takes us. We are still actively gathering evidence at this time and, indeed, we will go where the evidence takes us. No one in this county is above the law and that includes Cardinal Mahoney. GRIFFIN (on camera): So far, no charges have been filed against Cardinal Roger Mahoney but his involvement in several high profile cases have brought him in direct contact with priest after accused priest in which little or no action was taken to prevent further abuse.

(voice-over): According to the L.A. Archdiocese in 1986 Father Michael Baker confessed to Cardinal Mahoney that he had abused two young boys. He was not removed until a total of 23 alleged victims came forward.

In 1987, the archdiocese received a report that Father Michael Wempy (ph) was accused of abusing children. He was sent for psychiatric treatment but remained a priest until 2002.

Father Carl Sutphin was first accused in 1991. He remained a priest for eleven more years. His alleged victims now number 18.

All these people were known to the archdiocese and many known to Cardinal Mahoney as well as having a problem with sexually molesting and yet I can't think of one of those cases where the cardinal or the archdiocese came to the police and basically turned them in, is that correct?

HODGMAN: I think the record speaks for itself.

FRANK KEATING, FMR. OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR: Los Angeles has been a disappointment to me because I'm afraid they are thinking out there, and I include Cardinal Mahoney in this category, more with their pocketbooks than their hearts, more with their heads than their hearts.

GRIFFIN: In 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating to head a national review board to scrutinize the Catholic Church, hold bishops accountable, and guide the church in how to prevent, report, and disclose sexual abuse.

Keating resigned after making critical comments about how some diocese, including Los Angeles, were and continue to be less than open with the public and less than honest with themselves.

KEATING: If you take the position that you won't get anything out of me without a subpoena, the suggestion is you have something to hide and for a faith institution that's a terrible suggestion.

GRIFFIN (on camera): You, as a man of God, and answering to a much higher calling than a district attorney or a former governor of Oklahoma, I guess their feeling is and the feeling of some of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) who cares about all these laws? Let's get this out in the open and put the sexual crisis behind the Catholic Church. I mean it does appear to them that there's something to hide.

MAHONEY: Well, that's simply not the case but there are a lot of privileged communications in the State of California. One of them is reporters and news media or sources. That's a very highly protected -- protection that you have. There are between a husband and wife testifying against each other there are a whole list of them. Those are protected communications and so a priest talking to his bishop is a protected communication.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): This man says he had a private conversation with Roger Mahoney 23 years ago. He now wants to know why Mahoney protected the priest instead of the children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean how could you do that to little kids, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

GRIFFIN (on camera): Cardinal, did the archdiocese protect the priests over the children?

Mahoney: Absolutely not. That was never, never our objective at all. We were operating under the knowledge and the treatment protocols of the time doing what we thought was best at the time. We have learned with time that that was simply inadequate and now we have a zero tolerance policy and that's the way it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: The archbishop. All right, Drew Griffin reporting for the CNN investigative unit. The man who says he reported his abuse to Mahoney now has filed his own lawsuit against the diocese, of Stockton, where Mahoney was bishop.

SANCHEZ: A Dodge danger. Safety regulators request a recall that could involve 600,000 trucks and SUVs. Rhonda Schaffler is up next. She's going to give us the money details.

LIN: And a pretty woman and lots of handsome men lighting up the big screen this weekend. Sounds good to me. Mr. Moviefone will be along a little bit later with a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SANCHEZ: There's a new movie out. There's a bunch of them. But remember the "Ocean's Eleven?"

LIN: Yes, that all-star cast.

SANCHEZ: There's an "Ocean's Twelve."

LIN: It is worth seeing. I don't know, we're going to talk to Mr. Moviefone. I know you're a little skeptical, but we'll see what he has to say. So we're going to talk to him about that. And we're going to talk to him about Wesley Snipes' new movie, too.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's a darker movie, vampires, all kinds of stuff.

LIN: It's holiday fare.

SANCHEZ: Yes, weird, but we'll tell you all about it. Maybe worth seeing.

LIN: Yes, we'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE MAC, ACTOR: You told me that your wife said that he called it "Ocean's Eleven." Now who decided that? I'm a private contractor.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It was a collaboration. That moniker is insulting.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yes, I mean, Daniel (ph), it was one job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: All right mixed reviews on this, and Rick and I have been talking about this movie, "Ocean's Twelve" now. Personally, I think, any excuse to see George Clooney is a good excuse. Right? Just go. You know, missed reviews on "Ocean's Twelve."

SANCHEZ: Yes, we've got this one, and we're also a movie named "Blade." Russ Leatherman is standing by. He's our Mr. Moviefone.

You watch football at all?

RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": Yes, a little bit.

SANCHEZ: OK, here's my analogy to this. I'm a big Miami Dolphins fan. Last year Don Shula, they went out and they got all the best players in the NFL and put them with Dan Marino to make the Super Bowl team. They were horrible. They were a really bad football team, despite the fact they had all the stars on it. This movie has all the stars in it. Similar scenario?

LEATHERMAN: Well, I'm looking at carol over there, and she's just saying, you know what, this movie's got enough man candy for me any day of the week, right, am I right?

But you're not far off either. This movie, everybody's looking forward to this thing. The huge see well to "Ocean's Eleven," which was a big hit for many reasons, one, it was a really fun caper, and we loved seeing all these actors together. This is the follow-up. This time they're headed to Europe because Andy Garcia, the casino boss that they ripped off in the first movie wants his money back. So these have to try to pull off some more heists, try to pay him back before they get killed.

You're absolutely right about this movie. What I thought was the capers themselves, the heists, were not nearly as fun as in the first movie. The actors really are so full of themselves, and there are so many inside jokes here, that it really felt like I was sort of left out of the party.

SANCHEZ: But these are like the greatest names in Hollywood. This cast is unbelievable. It's like a record cast.

LEATHERMAN: Not unlike the football team. I mean, it's a fantastic cast.

SANCHEZ: All right. Let's talk about a movie with bite.

LEATHERMAN: If you listen to the public -- a movie with bite, "Blade: Trinity." You know what, this is another lazy sequel. OK, and if you liked the first two movies, you're probably going to be OK with this one. It's Wesley Snipes. He's a vampire hunter. This time he's going after the ultimate vampire, Dracula. I think this movie is a little long in the tooth at this point. And if you're a fan of the first two movies, you might be OK with this. I wouldn't suggest jumping in now to the franchise, if you know what I'm saying.

So it's OK. If you like the series you'll be okay with this, but not a great movie.

But here's what we got. Over the next couple weeks we have 25 movies hitting theaters, some big, some small, but some great movies. I'm going to give you a little teaser, Leonardo DiCaprio. I smell Oscar, I don't know. "Aviator" seems like a good movie. That and Don Cheadle. There's some great stuff coming up. So just wait. Just be patient.

SANCHEZ: So he says the cast is better than the movie.

LEATHERMAN: Oh, fantastic.

SANCHEZ: And on the second one, a little bit of a bite, but not all that great.

LIN: All right, thanks, Russ.

SANCHEZ: We wrote it down, Russ.

LEATHERMAN: Have a great weekend, you guys.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

LIN: All right, much more serious news coming out of Iraq and here at home, troops arriving home from the war. And some of them are missing limbs. But now, you do have a better chance than ever at survival. We have got that amazing story coming up next.

SANCHEZ: Also if the North Pole is too far for a reindeer visit, we're going to take you to New York where you can meet Bucky. That's right, the second hour of CNN LIVE begins right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 10, 2004 - 10:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We want to let you know what we're watching for you. This is Attorney General John Ashcroft. He will likely be replaced by White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez. But not before he gives and gets a send-off. And that's exactly what they're doing for him right now. These are live pictures from the Justice Department. We're watching it for news and we'll turn it around for you the moment it happens.
Carol, back over to you.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime we want to talk about the investigation into the Catholic Church. It is a CNN investigative unit exclusive. It is a question at the heart of the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. Did church officials place the interests of their own institution ahead of their worshipers? Today, a CNN investigation into allegations of cover-ups and priest shuffling within the largest Catholic archdiocese in America. They are cases that have left lifetime emotional scars on the victims claiming abuse.

CNN's Drew Griffin reports from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His story has not been told for 23 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked and he's coming back.

GRIFFIN: He was just 16 at the time from the Philippines living in Stockton, California. He wanted to improve his English. His mother thought a Catholic priest would be a good tutor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then Father O'Grady...

GRIFFIN: But Father Oliver O'Grady, it turns out, had more in mind than tutoring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's touching me and fondling me and he was touching my private area.

GRIFFIN: It is a story told again and again by those accusing clergy of sexual abuse. What makes this account different is that he says he has told the awful story before in 1981 right after he says he was molested by Father O'Grady. He says he told his mother, told a local Filipino priest and then went directly to the bishop of Stockton and told him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then we went to this office there to meet Father Mahony.

GRIFFIN: Father Roger Mahony, then Bishop of Stockton, the same Roger Mahony who is now cardinal of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father Mahony sat down on the chair, sat down and looked at me and he asked me directly if anybody else knows about this. He asked me, "Are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure nobody else know about this?"

GRIFFIN: Thursday morning, Cardinal Roger Mahony sat down in his Los Angeles residence with CNN and said he does not believe the victim's story.

CARDINAL ROGER MAHONY, LOS ANGELES ARCHDIOCESE: As far as I know it didn't happen. I'd remember. I would have acted on it like I did act on another case that same year. So, to have someone tell me that with his mother present and not do anything about it is contradictory.

GRIFFIN: But this accuser says he remembers the meeting with Mahony in detail, including repeated questions about whether authorities were told.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you report it to the police or did you tell anyone or your teacher at school, all right? He didn't ask if I was OK. I thought he was going to take a type of action. When he told me that he will investigate it, I kind of feel kind of a sense of relief.

GRIFFIN: Father Oliver O'Grady remained a priest and, in 1985, was promoted by Mahony to pastor, continued to seek out young boys and even young girls, molest them and move on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury have you reached a verdict?

GRIFFIN: In 1993, Father Oliver O'Grady pled guilty to four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior with other children. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. After serving seven years, he was deported to Ireland.

O'Grady told CNN he does not recall the case of the young Filipino boy. Roger Mahony went on to become cardinal of the largest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the United States and investigators say continued to cover up and deny any involvement in a huge sex abuse scandal growing inside his church.

BILL HODGMAN, LOS ANGELES DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This was staggering to me, to my investigators. Quite frankly we were overwhelmed in the initial months of pursuing this investigation.

GRIFFIN: Bill Hodgman heads the sex crimes division for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. For the past two and a half years he has investigated 100 allegations of priests abusing children and an archdiocese he says that has been trying to keep it a secret.

HODGMAN: There is a generalized sense that has been reflected back to me by many of a feeling that there has been concealment and cover-up here in the County of Los Angeles by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

GRIFFIN: Investigators say one of the most notorious examples of cover-up by the archdiocese involves another former priest Kevin Barmesy (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says that you molested them, is that true? Kevin, is that true?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the church itself was down through there. That used to be like...

GRIFFIN: Michael Moylan moved with his family from the Midwest to Tucson, Arizona in 1986. He was a high school junior.

MICHAEL MOYLAN, ALLEGED ABUSE VICTIM: This was the rectory right. This is where the priests lived.

GRIFFIN: The family was Catholic. The children were in need of new friends. The solution was to find a church.

MOYLAN: And Father Kevin Barmesy was the associate pastor up there and he was in charge of the youth group.

GRIFFIN: At the time, Michael Moylan thought Barmesy was his new best friend. Looking back now do you feel like you were being reeled in by a real predator?

MOYLAN: Oh, definitely, definitely. Yes, he -- he knew enough about us as kids and our weaknesses, you know. He knew how Catholic I was, so yes, he was very skilled, you know. He -- he knew exactly what he was looking for and what he was doing, reeled us in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think strung along is a better term.

GRIFFIN: Their accounts are almost identical. He got you drunk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, he did.

MOYLAN: He sexually assaulted me, yes. That's difficult to talk about still.

GRIFFIN: The archdiocese itself has acknowledged that six other credible victims have come forward to also identify Kevin Barmesy as a pedophile and the church now admits it had a problem with this priest from day one.

In 1983, shortly after Barmesy's ordination, police in Los Angeles were brought in to investigate claims by a young boy that Barmesy had abused him. According to the Los Angeles and Tucson diocese the parents were told Father Barmesy would get treatment so he would not hurt other children.

(on camera): But that's not the way it turned out. While Barmesy did receive some treatment, the Los Angeles Archdiocese shipped its problem priest to Tucson, Arizona.

(voice-over): Roger Mahoney was not in Los Angeles when the Barmesy deal was made but for years after being dispatched to Tucson, Barmesy would petition the cardinal asking he be allowed to return to Los Angeles. Each time the cardinal wouldn't allow it unless Barmesy received further treatment.

Mahoney: When he asked to come back her I said no because the family doesn't want that.

GRIFFIN (on camera): At any time, I mean you must have been aware of this person's past, were you concerned that he was in Tucson with little or no restrictions, in fact in charge of several youth groups?

Mahoney: Well, again, I don't think I ever met the man. This all was arranged before I came here. He was supposed to be seeing a doctor. We have his name in reports and the doctor was maintaining that he was doing well in treatment there.

So, again, that was the protocol of the '80s. You're talking about the '80s. That's where he was and that's the treatment he was receiving. Today, 2004, he'd be out of ministry immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles we now know knew about him and rather than having him prosecuted in Los Angeles, shipped him here without missing a beat. He walked right into a parish, right into the youth group, right into many people's lives, many children's lives and from there he was moved again and moved again and he was allowed to hurt many people.

GRIFFIN: This past February, Cardinal Mahoney issued a report to his faithful on more than seven decades of clergy abuse in Los Angeles. Mahoney cited the church's misunderstanding of the nature of the problem and explained that pedophilia had been wrongly regarded as a moral weakness and a sin. He did not believe offenders, once confronted, would offend again. He admits it was a mistake.

The report also calls for openness but prosecutor Bill Hodgman says the archdiocese has been anything but, fighting subpoenas and refusing to hand over potential evidence. The archdiocese says that's because their counseling of priests must remain private to be effective.

Hodgman says the number of cases involving priests and sexual abuse continues to grow. He is now trying to determine if all these cases add up to evidence of a larger crime of conspiracy to deceive.

HODGMAN: We will go where the evidence takes us. We are still actively gathering evidence at this time and, indeed, we will go where the evidence takes us. No one in this county is above the law and that includes Cardinal Mahoney. GRIFFIN (on camera): So far, no charges have been filed against Cardinal Roger Mahoney but his involvement in several high profile cases have brought him in direct contact with priest after accused priest in which little or no action was taken to prevent further abuse.

(voice-over): According to the L.A. Archdiocese in 1986 Father Michael Baker confessed to Cardinal Mahoney that he had abused two young boys. He was not removed until a total of 23 alleged victims came forward.

In 1987, the archdiocese received a report that Father Michael Wempy (ph) was accused of abusing children. He was sent for psychiatric treatment but remained a priest until 2002.

Father Carl Sutphin was first accused in 1991. He remained a priest for eleven more years. His alleged victims now number 18.

All these people were known to the archdiocese and many known to Cardinal Mahoney as well as having a problem with sexually molesting and yet I can't think of one of those cases where the cardinal or the archdiocese came to the police and basically turned them in, is that correct?

HODGMAN: I think the record speaks for itself.

FRANK KEATING, FMR. OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR: Los Angeles has been a disappointment to me because I'm afraid they are thinking out there, and I include Cardinal Mahoney in this category, more with their pocketbooks than their hearts, more with their heads than their hearts.

GRIFFIN: In 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating to head a national review board to scrutinize the Catholic Church, hold bishops accountable, and guide the church in how to prevent, report, and disclose sexual abuse.

Keating resigned after making critical comments about how some diocese, including Los Angeles, were and continue to be less than open with the public and less than honest with themselves.

KEATING: If you take the position that you won't get anything out of me without a subpoena, the suggestion is you have something to hide and for a faith institution that's a terrible suggestion.

GRIFFIN (on camera): You, as a man of God, and answering to a much higher calling than a district attorney or a former governor of Oklahoma, I guess their feeling is and the feeling of some of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) who cares about all these laws? Let's get this out in the open and put the sexual crisis behind the Catholic Church. I mean it does appear to them that there's something to hide.

MAHONEY: Well, that's simply not the case but there are a lot of privileged communications in the State of California. One of them is reporters and news media or sources. That's a very highly protected -- protection that you have. There are between a husband and wife testifying against each other there are a whole list of them. Those are protected communications and so a priest talking to his bishop is a protected communication.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): This man says he had a private conversation with Roger Mahoney 23 years ago. He now wants to know why Mahoney protected the priest instead of the children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean how could you do that to little kids, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

GRIFFIN (on camera): Cardinal, did the archdiocese protect the priests over the children?

Mahoney: Absolutely not. That was never, never our objective at all. We were operating under the knowledge and the treatment protocols of the time doing what we thought was best at the time. We have learned with time that that was simply inadequate and now we have a zero tolerance policy and that's the way it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: The archbishop. All right, Drew Griffin reporting for the CNN investigative unit. The man who says he reported his abuse to Mahoney now has filed his own lawsuit against the diocese, of Stockton, where Mahoney was bishop.

SANCHEZ: A Dodge danger. Safety regulators request a recall that could involve 600,000 trucks and SUVs. Rhonda Schaffler is up next. She's going to give us the money details.

LIN: And a pretty woman and lots of handsome men lighting up the big screen this weekend. Sounds good to me. Mr. Moviefone will be along a little bit later with a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SANCHEZ: There's a new movie out. There's a bunch of them. But remember the "Ocean's Eleven?"

LIN: Yes, that all-star cast.

SANCHEZ: There's an "Ocean's Twelve."

LIN: It is worth seeing. I don't know, we're going to talk to Mr. Moviefone. I know you're a little skeptical, but we'll see what he has to say. So we're going to talk to him about that. And we're going to talk to him about Wesley Snipes' new movie, too.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's a darker movie, vampires, all kinds of stuff.

LIN: It's holiday fare.

SANCHEZ: Yes, weird, but we'll tell you all about it. Maybe worth seeing.

LIN: Yes, we'll find out.

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BERNIE MAC, ACTOR: You told me that your wife said that he called it "Ocean's Eleven." Now who decided that? I'm a private contractor.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It was a collaboration. That moniker is insulting.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yes, I mean, Daniel (ph), it was one job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: All right mixed reviews on this, and Rick and I have been talking about this movie, "Ocean's Twelve" now. Personally, I think, any excuse to see George Clooney is a good excuse. Right? Just go. You know, missed reviews on "Ocean's Twelve."

SANCHEZ: Yes, we've got this one, and we're also a movie named "Blade." Russ Leatherman is standing by. He's our Mr. Moviefone.

You watch football at all?

RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": Yes, a little bit.

SANCHEZ: OK, here's my analogy to this. I'm a big Miami Dolphins fan. Last year Don Shula, they went out and they got all the best players in the NFL and put them with Dan Marino to make the Super Bowl team. They were horrible. They were a really bad football team, despite the fact they had all the stars on it. This movie has all the stars in it. Similar scenario?

LEATHERMAN: Well, I'm looking at carol over there, and she's just saying, you know what, this movie's got enough man candy for me any day of the week, right, am I right?

But you're not far off either. This movie, everybody's looking forward to this thing. The huge see well to "Ocean's Eleven," which was a big hit for many reasons, one, it was a really fun caper, and we loved seeing all these actors together. This is the follow-up. This time they're headed to Europe because Andy Garcia, the casino boss that they ripped off in the first movie wants his money back. So these have to try to pull off some more heists, try to pay him back before they get killed.

You're absolutely right about this movie. What I thought was the capers themselves, the heists, were not nearly as fun as in the first movie. The actors really are so full of themselves, and there are so many inside jokes here, that it really felt like I was sort of left out of the party.

SANCHEZ: But these are like the greatest names in Hollywood. This cast is unbelievable. It's like a record cast.

LEATHERMAN: Not unlike the football team. I mean, it's a fantastic cast.

SANCHEZ: All right. Let's talk about a movie with bite.

LEATHERMAN: If you listen to the public -- a movie with bite, "Blade: Trinity." You know what, this is another lazy sequel. OK, and if you liked the first two movies, you're probably going to be OK with this one. It's Wesley Snipes. He's a vampire hunter. This time he's going after the ultimate vampire, Dracula. I think this movie is a little long in the tooth at this point. And if you're a fan of the first two movies, you might be OK with this. I wouldn't suggest jumping in now to the franchise, if you know what I'm saying.

So it's OK. If you like the series you'll be okay with this, but not a great movie.

But here's what we got. Over the next couple weeks we have 25 movies hitting theaters, some big, some small, but some great movies. I'm going to give you a little teaser, Leonardo DiCaprio. I smell Oscar, I don't know. "Aviator" seems like a good movie. That and Don Cheadle. There's some great stuff coming up. So just wait. Just be patient.

SANCHEZ: So he says the cast is better than the movie.

LEATHERMAN: Oh, fantastic.

SANCHEZ: And on the second one, a little bit of a bite, but not all that great.

LIN: All right, thanks, Russ.

SANCHEZ: We wrote it down, Russ.

LEATHERMAN: Have a great weekend, you guys.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

LIN: All right, much more serious news coming out of Iraq and here at home, troops arriving home from the war. And some of them are missing limbs. But now, you do have a better chance than ever at survival. We have got that amazing story coming up next.

SANCHEZ: Also if the North Pole is too far for a reindeer visit, we're going to take you to New York where you can meet Bucky. That's right, the second hour of CNN LIVE begins right after the break.

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