vol. 21, no. 086, Sept. 6-13, 2007

ON THE COVER: The Catholic Church has been embroiled in sex-abuse scandals for more than a decade, and July’s $660 million settlement by the Los Angeles Archdiocese (which oversees Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties’ Catholic churches) brought legal closure, if not spiritual consolation, to the area’s child-abuse survivors. Father Matthew Kelly of the Eastside’s Our Lady of Guadalupe was accused of such abuse by two Santa Barbarans who tell their story to Nick Welsh in this week’s cover story, starting on page 30. The cover image was printed originally in 1953 as part of the church’s pamphlet celebrating its 25th anniversary.