Cardinal Roger Mahony Squarely at the Center of the Sex-Abuse Scandal
By Barbara Jones and Tracy Manzer
[Archive of Los Angeles Archdiocesan Documents - BishopAccountability.org] When the Most Rev. Roger Michael Mahony was tapped by Pope John Paul II to be the shepherd of Los Angeles' 3 million Roman Catholics, a local priest called the choice "a breath of fresh air for the archdiocese." Within months of his installation as archbishop on Sept. 5, 1985, the North Hollywood native had advocated for immigration reform, encouraged interfaith communication and launched plans to expand spiritual and social programs for the region's Hispanic Catholics. Mahony quickly became a fixture in Los Angeles as he ministered to the region's disenfranchised residents and rubbed elbows with its civic leaders. "We must realize that Christ came as the son of God not only to spend his time in the synagogue, but also to involve himself in the daily life of the people," he said in an interview at the time. "We as his disciples must realize the Gospel must speak to actual, current situations." For Mahony, those situations would include complaints that scores of his priests were abusing children — altar boys, students in parochial schools, sons and daughters of their parishioners. His handling of those early reports put Mahony squarely at the center of the sex-abuse scandal that enveloped the nation's Roman Catholic dioceses beginning in 2002. In 2007, the Los Angeles Archdiocese agreed to pay $660 million to settle claims with more than 500 men and women who alleged they had been been victimized by priests. Mahony apologized at the time for failing to protect the children. And he apologized again last week as documents showing how church leaders shielded pedophile priests were released by an attorney pursuing a current sex-abuse lawsuit against the archdiocese. "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," said Mahony, who retired as archbishop in 2011 but remains a cardinal in the Catholic Church. Further revelations are expected in the coming weeks, when the archdiocese releases the files of about 75 more priests as part of the 2007 settlement. "The simple fact is that the church hasn't been straight with its victims," said Manuel Vega, who was molested by a priest as a boy and shared in the legal settlement. "Instead, it's been all about the church's image or wealth." The Report to the People of God, released by the archdiocese in 2004 as its response to the sex-abuse scandal, says that the issue of widespread clergy abuse was first discussed by the nation's bishops in 1985. The practice at the time was to handle complaints internally, focusing on the welfare of the abusive priests rather than the victims. Although critics have accused the cardinal of complicity in enabling the abusive priests, archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said it was Mahony who recognized the need for a formal sex-abuse policy in 1987. That led to sweeping changes in how the church screens priests, employees and volunteers and how it handles allegations of abuse. "It really was the crisis that crystallized what the church had to do and what (Mahony) had to do, and he did it," Tamberg said. Critics who dismiss the policy changes as a defense against future criminal or civil action fail to understand that the sex-abuse crisis has affected everyone who is part of the church, Tamberg said. "I think that's the biggest shame we feel as a church and as individuals." Staff Writer Dana Bartholomew contributed to this report. Contact: barbara.jones@dailynews.com
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