CALIFORNIANS FILE HUNDREDS OF LAWSUITS AGAINST CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Hundreds of Californians filed lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church before Jan. 1, when the one-year deadline lifting the statute of limitations for molestation lawsuits ended.

At least 500 suits were filed against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest archdiocese.

So far, the Los Angeles archdiocese has refused to turn over personnel records of priests suspected of molestation but has been trying to work out a settlement, along with the neighboring Diocese of Orange, which faces about 50 claims.