Cardinal Mahony hit hard by document release

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
1/23/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Document release shows he had full knowledge of child sex abuse allegations.

It's a scathing indictment, but today the Los Angeles Times reviewed documents which reveal that Los Angeles Archbishop, Cardinal Roger Mahony, actively and knowing participated in hiding child sex abuse from the authorities in the 1980s.

Cardinal Mahony has been powerfully indicted in the court of public opinion.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - In front page news, Cardinal Roger Mahony was skewered as the Los Angeles Times published a review of documents that reveal that then-Archbishop Roger Mahony knew about child sex abuse in his archdiocese and actively worked to cover it up.

The revelations are part of a document dump ordered by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Documents were released on Monday.

According to the Times, the documents contain the best evidence to date to show that Cardinal Mahony and others actively worked to cover up the scandal. In addition to Mahony, memos he exchanged with Msgr. Thomas Curry were disclosed. The memos discuss things such as keeping an accused priest out of the state for fear of arrest and prosecution, both criminal and civil, as well as discussions related to priests who were known pedophiles.

Several pedophile priests were sent to rehabilitation programs in the 1980s. Authorities were never contacted.

Some priests even deliberately targeted the children of illegal immigrants and threatened to report those families if they talked. When informed of these heinous crimes, Cardinal Mahony's response appears to have been to cover up the incidents.

It is well-understood that sexual abuse is a crime against children, and the appropriate response includes criminal sanctions. Unfortunately, because Mahony did not take this step, an unknown number of children were further abused.

The documents are part of an ongoing civil case against the Archdiocese.

While it appears based on the documents that Mahony may have participated in covering up crimes against children, he has actually gone one step further. He has actively participated in a crime against the entire Church.

The child sex scandal has rocked the Catholic Church for over a decade and has hurt the church in innumerable ways.

For his part, Archibishop Mahony has said, "I'm sorry." Unfortunately, the apology may not be enough to repair the lives of all the children who were harmed as a result of his actions - and inactions.

Mahoney released a statement where he said, "I have a 3 x 5 card for every victim I met with on the altar of my small chapel. I pray for them every single day. As I thumb through those cards I often pause as I am reminded of each personal story and the anguish that accompanies that life story."
"It remains my daily and fervent prayer that God's grace will flood the heart and soul of each victim, and that their life-journey continues forward with ever greater healing. I am sorry."

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Archbishop, Mahony, scandal, abuse,

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1 - 10 of 14 Comments

robert matzinger
3 months ago
If these allegations of Cardinal Mahoney's actions are true that he "knew" of child abuse taking place - and he did nothing,and perhaps even aided in the perputuation of it - then he is no diffeernt than any other and should be brought up on criminal charges!
ob
3 months ago
I read an article about the popular portestant pastor who was leading the protestant charge against homosexual unions but was caught and shamed publicly for his interactions with male prostitutes. The point of the article wasn't to condone what he did or condemn him, but the article focused on the response of his congregation and those nationally. Basically he questioned why Christians seemed to be so devoid of forgiveness for one of their own. He begged for forgiveness, has clearly repented. He was removed from ministry and almost lost everything. The author did not argue that none of that should not of happened, but questioned why we seemed so unable to forgive our own.

I think we have to be careful that while it's ok to be angry, shocked and saddened, we must forgive them. If we are bold enough to pray the "Our Father" then we must forgive. We cannot and we must not be like the secural world who throws their own under the bus.

What he did, in my opinion requires his removal from ministry and if he broke any laws, than jail, but we must forgive him and pray for his repentence and forgiveness.
Edward A. Lynn, D.D.S.
3 months ago
Cardinal Mahony needs to resign his post at once. Such conduct is inexcusable. Our Church needs to purge from its clerical ranks all of those who have aided and abetted the sexual abuse of innocent Roman Catholic children. Our Lord said that anyone who would mislead innocent children would be better off if he had a grind stone put around his neck and be flung into the sea. Our society does not allow such punishment, but, the offenders do need to be permanently removed from their posts of authority and sent to prison for a very, very long time.
abey
3 months ago
When accusers get carried away by their accusations unaware of the forgiveness of God not knowing that they themselves, no matter how great a person, live by the Mercy of God, until this day through what is called Grace ever since the coming of Christ, are but falling into the Sorcery of the accuser himself. However as Biblically stated, this Grace is not a reason to sin, as the Prophecy says - will come the time when that which restrains the sin be removed>
KarlVDH
3 months ago
There is no excuse for what this man has done. A Church that is supposed to be the bastion of truth and healing for the world has been turned into a den of deceit by this coward and others who'd sooner hide the truth than really LEAD.
Coward... and so are his superiors of he's not removed from the office he so unworthily holds and censured.
"Woe unto the shepherd who scatters my sheep."
Larry
3 months ago
Cardinal Mahony situation....where is ROME on this situation.....if they want the world to think they''re taking this abous seriously, then they should, not just slap him on the wrist, the POPE should defrock him. This is a pitiful situation. These cardinals are the same powers that punish or defrock other priests...it's time some action should be taken against the Cardinals.
DLL
3 months ago
It seems to me that this abuse scandal involved Cardinal Mahony from the beginning but he has continually escaped scrutiny. Cardinal Law and the archdiocese of Boston took the big hit for most of the rest of them. I see that the times we live in lack common sense and fear for law suits on most any situation imaginable are fashionable,so abuse of any kind becomes a game show. The sexual abuse of children to me is uniimaginable. I wonder often how the parents could miss abuse espescially as it comes from a priest or teacher,a camp councilor and such,especially in the immense number of cases as they are reported these days. They must have simply been stupid parents. Now I am sure with what I have just written this comment will not be posted. Never the less It is the responsibility of parents to see to it that at least a child can consult them about sexual abuse by elders and it will be a serious matter. I know when I was young that if my parents thought I was sexually abused there would have been hell to pay. There was a time when children were taught to never question their elders. A child that accused an adult of anything was simply out of line. Perhaps that is the real problem. Giving contraceptives to high school kids and free abortions is not child abuse these days? The whole of societies these days have no morals,common sense,common decency or responsibility in regards to children in general. Abortion is a woman's right to choose and that is not child abuse? The pot is calling the kettle black as the old saying goes. The society is sick and so are some of its priests,schoolteachers.politicians,its President,federal and state run governments,all who condone contraception and abortion so that even rape has no legal definition and child abuse becomes trafficking of child porn and prostitution. Today every one is to blame. The society itself has become run away abuse in the name of some poorly defined right. I am sick of it,nothing can be right when most everything has been allowed deliberately to go wrong,especially when it comes to raising children. No one person can take the rap for so many that are as guilty but ever so willing to point the finger away from themselves and that is also including the news media who love to scream scandal especially concerning the Catholic Church. At least the church is trying to address the problem. Where is the rest of the nation when morals have been traded for the right to produce pornography of every kind and involving those of any age even babies,along with sex trafficking and prostitution. Drugs? That is not child abuse? The society is nuts! The last 40 years? Unbelievable decline in simple common decency. Faith in God has been replaced by faith in odd. The law suit has been a cause for the distortion of our laws because for some it is a way to make a lot of money fast,or to force an unpopular agenda to become a law that most everyone hates like gay marriage. Today the law is a party to one to many strange bedfellows. The law is a way to ruin an otherwise mostly constructive institution such as the Catholic Church.
vance
3 months ago
Notice how Mahony says "I pray for the victims", but doesn't say, "God forgive me". Mahony is a bad guy who should have been thrown out of the church many years ago. This diabolic has done enormous harm and damage to the church and faithful. Sadly, our church is saddled with many Mahony's who have given license for our enemies to persecute us. HHS Mandate anyone? 333,976 abortions in 2011. No, they don't endorse abortion BUT they endorse those politicians who endorse abortion.
Gerald
3 months ago
It is the time for the Catholic people to chose another way to choose church leaders.
John Mainhart
3 months ago
This is a very tragic story that will affect Catholics for years because many of us find frightening evil unacceptable within our lovely Church. That is sad because we are the living church and when any of us commit sin we affect all the other souls in the body of Christ on earth and in heaven. It does not help the kingdom of God to distance ourselves from the only means of salvation which is Jesus Christ. If we stayed and became more active when these sins happen we could be the instrument of God's grace that saves many souls including those involved in the scandal.
The action that the Cardinal is taking for the rest of his lifre is a clear manifestation of his knowledge of the seriousness of the sins he committed and probably one of the few means open to him to make those abused childeren whole again because the grace of God can make us whole in spite of what we have suffered.

One of the problems that the Church must deal with and many times has dealt with unsuccessfully is how to deal with serious wrongs, sins, in a faithful way while meeting the demands of the secular world. I, for one, am sure that some of the clergy who dealt with these problems got advice from secularists who used their science to determine that some of the accused priests were cured and could resume their duties. In the last twenty years many experts have ,decided that these souls cannot change. I don't know what the public wisdom will be in the future but if God can make all kinds of sinners whole then I believe He can do so with those sinners. It is not easy for me to believe that many of these priests can't be made whole again or that many of the abused can't be made whole again. One of the big reasons that souls have difficulty becoming whole again is ,society's belief that they can't be cured., We need to treat every soul as a child of God and teach them how than can change completely if ,they use the grace of God. If we believed this and encourage others to believe, things would be a lot better.

This is not an apology for the priests and I know full well why steps should have been taken that were not. However unless we recognize how the love of God can make us whole again and how we should be part of that process we will be a long time suffering with these sins.

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