Woman asks church for help finding her father

Milla, right, with attorney Gloria Allred, believes the archdiocese played a role in the priests' disappearance.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A woman called Monday on the archbishop of Los Angeles to help her find her father -- who she says must be one of seven priests who were sexually abusing her mother around the time she was conceived in the early 1980s.

Jacqueline Milla, 19, made her appeal in a letter addressed to Cardinal Roger Mahony which she discussed in a news conference.

Jacqueline's mother, Rita Milla, 38, told reporters the priests began sexually abusing her in 1980, when she was 16. Two years later, she said, she became pregnant. In 1984, she filed a civil lawsuit against the priests and the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

"When I originally went to the archdiocese asking for help I was met with indifference and a total lack of concern," Rita said. "I struggled to raise my baby during a time when I was emotionally and physically traumatized because of the actions of the priests and the Church."

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Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the priests apparently left the Los Angeles area and Rita was unable to locate them, she said.

After the statute of limitations had expired, the California Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuit, said Gloria Allred, Milla's attorney.

Allred said church officials knew how to reach the accused priests during this time, but withheld the information from her client.

Allred added that she recently obtained letters that indicated archdiocesan officials urged one of the priests, who was living in the Philippines, to remain outside the United States in order to evade legal authorities.

A letter shown to reporters by Allred indicates the priest received monthly payments from the archdiocese for a period of time even though he was no longer serving there. The 1988 letter indicated a copy of the document was sent to Mahony.

Allred said at least two of the seven priests have died. Rita Milla said she believes two others are living in the Philippines.

The Millas are asking church officials to help them locate the priests so that DNA tests could be performed. They are also requesting an apology and financial compensation for Jacqueline Milla's loss of a relationship with her father. The Millas contend that the archdiocese played a role in the priests' disappearance.

"The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is very open to this request and we invite Ms. Milla to contact us with more information," said Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the archdiocese.