In recent years as prosecutors around the country have examined church handling of the clergy abuse crisis questions about what was likely to happen in Los Angeles begged for answers. Some of those answers became more public today as the L.A. District Attorney’s office announced that it had found information suggesting possible "criminal culpability" by leaders of the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese, but that the office lacked enough evidence to bring charges.
The document, written by the prosecutor who heads the investigation, William Hodgman, says statutes of limitations make the "prospect of developing any criminal case" against archdiocese officials "more and more remote with each passing day."
Meanwhile, Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said in an e-mail that "any suggestion of criminal conduct is totally false and without factual basis."