The Associated Press has obtained evidence that the Vatican was warned nearly fifty years about pedophile priests in the ministry. On August 27, 1963, the head of a Roman Catholic order that specialized in the treatment of pedophile priests wrote to Pope Paul VI recommending the removal of pedophile priests from active ministry and the defrocking of repeat offenders. The 1963 letter was released by attorneys who represented more than 500 victims of clergy abuse in their record-breaking $660 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2007.