LA Times Readers Slam Cardinal Mahony's Handling Church Sex Abuse Scandal

The Lez Get Real
December 3, 2013

http://lezgetreal.com/2013/12/la-times-readers-slam-cardinal-mahonys-handling-church-sex-abuse-scandal/

Cardinal Mahony graduated from St. Charles School

Earlier this week we reported on an LA Times two part feature article on  Cardinal Roger Mahony’s mishandling   of  the child sex abuse scandal in Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The article paints the picture of a man who had ambitious plans for the archdiocese and his legacy, but hid the abuse of children, because he saw his greater agenda would be endangered by the revelation of the molestation scandal… A man who was and is more worried about that legacy, then he was about justice and the safety of children.

Mahony went as far as to keep law enforcement uninvolved. Instead of turning priests accused of abuse over to the police for prosecution, Mahony would, instead, send them to out of state “treatment centers” he knew would keep a secret. And under his administration of the LA Archdiocese, abuse victims were discouraged from contacting the authorities.

All the while Mahony kept detailed documentation and files of the abuse cases safely locked in his desk.

Cardinal Mahony’s role in the sex abuse scandal has seen three grand jury investigations. Notwithstanding, no criminal charges have ever been filed against Mahony or anyone in the church hierarchy.

And despite numerous calls for his resignation for his role in the cover ups, he stayed in office until the Vatican’s mandatory retirement age of 75. Additionally Mahony still remains a bishop in good standing in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with full rights to celebrate the Holy Sacraments of the Church and to minister to the faithful without restriction.

Mahony was also able to participate in the papal conclave that choose Pope Francis in March of this year.

Yet it is clear Mahony sees himself as something of a victim.

Of the abuse scandal Mahony has said, ”I am not being called to serve Jesus in humility. Rather, I am being called to something deeper — to be humiliated, disgraced, and rebuffed by many”. He added, “To be honest with you, I have not reached the point where I can actually pray for more humiliation. I’m only at the stage of asking for the grace to endure the level of humiliation at the moment.”

Today, The Times Paul Thornton has written an another article called“Angered by church sex abuse, readers turn against Cardinal Mahony” and  it is  featuring some reader reaction to the original story.

Says Thornton:

We’ve received more than two dozen letters on the series so far, and only two have defended Mahony. Some of the letters are from Catholics disgusted by their leaders’ conduct; a handful come from readers who say they’ve been abused themselves.

The reaction to Times articles on abuse in the church hasn’t always been this one-sided. As the scandal unfolded through the years, a good portion of the letters we received accused The Times of being too harsh on Mahony or of harboring an anti-Catholic bias. They said the cardinal possessed many redeeming qualities or did more than most bishops to rid his parish of sex abuse.

Lately, however, readers increasingly seem to see the scandal as singularly defining Mahony’s legacy.

Yes, the  reactions are  extremely worth checking out.

We think Cardinal Mahony should get ready for more humiliation.