LA’s abuse oversight board
The quiet, often painful work of LA’s abuse oversight board
For almost the last 20 years, a handful of men and women — among them attorneys, mental health professionals, a couple of priests, a woman religious, even a pediatrician — have met regularly to provide a service Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez couldn’t do his job without.
Known as the Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board (CMOB), the independent board has reviewed every case of suspected sexual impropriety committed by priests and deacons in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 2002. Some are survivors of sexual abuse by clergy themselves.
Their task: to carefully evaluate every accusation before advising the archbishop on what actions should be taken, whether related to policy or outreach to those affected by abuse.