Victims of child molestation by priests in the Los Angeles Catholic Church are demanding justice following the disclosure top church officials conspired to conceal the abusers’ crimes. Newly disclosed internal documents have confirmed the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles deliberately hid evidence of child molestation for more than a decade, transferring abusive priests out of state to avoid prosecution, stopping them from confessing to therapists who would have been forced to inform police. Manuel Vega, a child abuse victim who was part of a 2007 settlement, called for a new investigation of the now-retired archbishop, Cardinal Roger Mahony, and his top adviser, Thomas Curry.

Manuel Vega: “To feel the hands of the priest on my neck, to feel his breath on the back of my neck, to hear him talk to me, to feel his body against me, to feel him violating me — there’s smells, there’s touches, there’s feelings — you have to put yourself into that moment to understand what the Catholic Church is protecting. This is what Cardinal Mahony, this is what Bishop Curry, this is what vicars of clergy, nuns, attorneys — this is what they all got together and spoke about and in secret made these deals to protect these priests.”

The files of around 75 priests accused of abuse are slated to become public in the coming weeks under the terms of the 2007 settlement reached with more than 500 victims.