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	Cardinal Asked to Resign North County Times March 22, 2007 http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/24/faith/19_07_453_22_07.txt Los Angeles --- Activists called on Cardinal Roger Mahony to resign in light of allegations he told his congregants a watered-down story about an alleged molestation, while telling Vatican officials a video provided proof of a crime. Court records show that at least six months after Mahony told Vatican officials a video provided proof of a priest's crimes against high school boys, he publicly said the tape showed no sexual activity between the Rev. Lynn Caffoe and the youths, the Los Angeles Times reported. "It should shock no one, but Cardinal Mahony tells his boss one thing and tells his flock something radically different," said Joelle Casteix, southwest regional director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "By most standards, that's deceit. By some standards, it's lying. By all standards, it's wrong. Cardinal Mahony should resign." Casteix also said she hoped prosecutors can get the video and bring charges against Mahony and Caffoe. Speaking in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Mary Grant, the western regional director of SNAP, said the report is proof of an "internal coverup by the Catholic hierarchy." Mahony should "stand up and take responsibility for what he has done to facilitate sexual abuse," she said. Mahony's spokesman, Tod Tamberg, did not immediately return a call for comment. Documents newly filed in the Caffoe civil case provide a first glimpse into confidential priest files that Mahony has sought to keep sealed. The cardinal eventually took the secrecy fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a letter to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he was named pope in April 2005, Mahony said Caffoe had videotaped "partially naked" boys in a state of sexual arousal, according to the article. The tape was "objective verification that criminal behavior did occur," Mahony wrote, according to the report, which cited papers filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court in a lawsuit by four plaintiffs who allege that Caffoe abused them. In October 2005, in what Mahony told parishioners was the "fullest possible disclosure" about the scandal, he reported a video had been found in Caffoe's bedroom in 1992 that depicted "improper behavior" with high school boys, according to the newspaper. But the cardinal said the boys were "fully clothed" and there was no sexual activity. Since that report, an appellate court ordered Mahony to turn over personnel files to prosecutors, and a Superior Court judge ruled that the files must be made available to plaintiffs suing the church. J. Michael Hennigan, Mahony's lawyer, defended the cardinal. He told the newspaper he saw no contradiction between Mahony's public statements and the contents of the file, because when Mahony spoke about the situation, the archdiocese was under court orders not to reveal the contents of personnel files.
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