US archbishop releases abuse records, strips cardinal

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The archbishop of Los Angeles stripped his predecessor of all church duties on Thursday as he released files on more than 100 clerics, as required under a 2007 lawsuit deal over alleged sex abuse.

Archbishop Jose Gomez said retired Cardinal Roger Mahony will "no longer have any administrative or public duties," while Mahony's former top adviser on sex-abuse issues, Thomas Curry, has stepped down as a regional bishop.

"These files document abuses that happened decades ago. But that does not make them less serious," he wrote, releasing the personnel files online after prolonged wrangling over whether the names should be blanked out.

"I find these files to be brutal and painful reading. The behaviour described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children.