Cardinal Mahony Relieved Of Public Duties By Archbishop Gomez

[Era Might]

In a move unprecedented in the American Catholic Church, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced Thursday that he had relieved his predecessor, Cardinal 

Roger M. Mahony, of all public duties over his mishandling of clergy sex abuse of children decades ago.

 

...

 

The announcement came as the church posted on its website tens of thousands of pages of previously secret personnel files for 122 priests accused of molesting children.

 

"I find these files to be brutal and painful reading. The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil," Gomez wrote in a letter addressed to "My brothers and sisters in Christ."

 

The release of the records and the rebuke of the two central figures in L.A.'s molestation scandal signaled a clear desire by Gomez to define the sexual abuse crisis as a problem of a different era — and a different archbishop.

 

"I cannot undo the failings of the past that we find in these pages. Reading these files, reflecting on the wounds that were caused has been the saddest experience I've had since becoming your Archbishop in 2011," Gomez wrote.

 

The public censure of Mahony, whose quarter-century at the helm of America's largest archdiocese made him one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church, was unparalleled, experts said.

 

"This is very unusual and shows really how seriously they're taking this. To tell a cardinal he can't do confirmations, can't do things in public, that's extraordinary," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and Georgetown University fellow.

 

An archdiocese spokesman, Tod Tamberg, said that beyond canceling his confirmation schedule, Mahony's day-to-day life as a retired priest would be largely unchanged. He resides at a North Hollywood parish, and Tamberg said he would remain a "priest in good standing." He can continue to celebrate Mass and will be eligible to vote for pope until he turns 80 two years from now, Tamberg said.

 

...

 

Mahony and Curry both issued apologies, with the cardinal saying he had not realized the extent of harm done to children until he met with victims during civil litigation. "I am sorry," he said.

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0201-mahony-curry-20130201,0,3889565.story

Edited February 1, 2013 by Era Might

[Anomaly]

 
 
"This is very unusual and shows really how seriously they're taking this. To tell a cardinal he can't do confirmations, can't do things in public, that's extraordinary," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and Georgetown University fellow.
 
An archdiocese spokesman, Tod Tamberg, said that beyond canceling his confirmation schedule, Mahony's day-to-day life as a retired priest would be largely unchanged. He resides at a North Hollywood parish, and Tamberg said he would remain a "priest in good standing." He can continue to celebrate Mass and will be eligible to vote for pope until he turns 80 two years from now, Tamberg said.
 
...
 
Mahony and Curry both issued apologies, with the cardinal saying he had not realized the extent of harm done to children until he met with victims during civil litigation. "I am sorry," he said.
 
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0201-mahony-curry-20130201,0,3889565.story

 

---------------------------------------

What a laugh.  They're SERIOUS now!  The cardinal "can't do confirmations, can't do things in public, that's extrordinary".

 

Serious would have been walking the walk.  Not hiding the abusers from the law.  Not hiding the abusers amongst children and families.  Not choosing morally bankrupt behaviors in order to protect the "Church".

 

It's all better now.  Mahoney and Curry issued apologies as if they didn't know their cover up and shennanigans couldn't cause more harm.  They're only sorry they couldn't make it all go away.

 

Princes.  You can't live with them and you can't...  Oh yeah, yes you can live without 'em.

[Nihil Obstat]

Unfortunately there is not really anything canonical that Gomez can do with regards to Mahoney or Curry. Canonically speaking, any real action like a restriction of faculties would have to come from Rome.

[Brother Adam]

We are talking about things that happened a very long time ago. There is corruption in every human organization. The Church is second to none in cleaning up its act - when and where there were problems with homosexuality and on the rare occasion, pedophilia. It has a charter that regulates who is allowed to work for and volunteer for the Church that makes public schools, governments, and protestant churches look like a joke.

[Nihil Obstat]

I asked Cardinal Mahoney on Twitter if he thinks his past failures in leadership indicate that he is not competent to hold any leadership role in the future. I hope he responds- I would be interested to hear what he has to say.

[Era Might]

I asked Cardinal Mahoney on Twitter if he thinks his past failures in leadership indicate that he is not competent to hold any leadership role in the future. I hope he responds- I would be interested to hear what he has to say.

 

Probably has someone who handles the account, maybe not. The tweets the Pope gets are crazy lol. I saw one guy asked him, "Bro, do you even lift?" I doubt the Pope saw it lol.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Era Might

[Nihil Obstat]

Probably has someone who handles the account, maybe not. The tweets the Pope gets are crazy lol. I saw one guy asked him, "Bro, do you even lift?" I doubt the Pope saw it lol.

Maybe. I wonder though. Since he is retired, presumably he does not have a department full of people helping him with stuff.

I have a better chance of the tweet being personally read by him than if I sent one to the Holy Father, I think. :hehe:

[Winchester]

[Anomaly]

We are talking about things that happened a very long time ago. There is corruption in every human organization. The Church is second to none in cleaning up its act - when and where there were problems with homosexuality and on the rare occasion, pedophilia. It has a charter that regulates who is allowed to work for and volunteer for the Church that makes public schools, governments, and protestant churches look like a joke.

 

How the Church enforces the charter in the matter of priests and Bishops is the joke.  I had to go through a background check when I taught CCD and Confirmation.  Who runs the background checks on priests?  Who checks that the Bishops are actually following the "charter".  Cool, so the laity is scrutinized and that fixes the institutionalized cover up of abusive and corrupt Bishops!  The charter has no power over the bishops.  Bishops can't be punished or removed if they don't comply.  The charter is simply a policy of what the Bishops should do to the priests.  The Mahony thing has been going on for years as has all this. 

[BG45]

How the Church enforces the charter in the matter of priests and Bishops is the joke.  I had to go through a background check when I taught CCD and Confirmation.  Who runs the background checks on priests?  Who checks that the Bishops are actually following the "charter".  Cool, so the laity is scrutinized and that fixes the institutionalized cover up of abusive and corrupt Bishops!  The charter has no power over the bishops.  Bishops can't be punished or removed if they don't comply.  The charter is simply a policy of what the Bishops should do to the priests.  The Mahony thing has been going on for years as has all this. 

 

I would assume someone does background checks on priests, but don't know.  I know when I was a Baptist, a background check was the first thing run on any applicant when we were searching for a new minister.

[Anomaly]

I would assume someone does background checks on priests, but don't know.  I know when I was a Baptist, a background check was the first thing run on any applicant when we were searching for a new minister.

 

The Bishops are supposed to keep track of priests and deal with issues.  Until it became public via lawsuits, the priests were shuffled, transferred, "counseled", or something.  After the lawsuits started, then cover ups went into high gear with some Bishops and Church leaders.  The Charter was written by the Bishops around 10 years ago, but it has no power in dealing with bishops (who supervise priests) that don't comply or cover things up.  Because of theological beaucracy, only the Pope can punish or discipline a Bishop.  That doesn't happen until legal matters are so intense, it can't be ignored.  There are Bishops and dioceses that aren't complying and have continuing problems.

 

There are reasonable logical justifications that Bishops can make (charity, benefit of the doubt, protect the Church, privacy, financial, diminish scandal) to hide or obscure issues.  Hey, they can't even get their church buildings constructed and the Mass said in compliance with Church Doctrine.  You can only expect so much from the bulwark of infallible teaching on morals.

[4588686]

We are talking about things that happened a very long time ago. There is corruption in every human organization. The Church is second to none in cleaning up its act - when and where there were problems with homosexuality and on the rare occasion, pedophilia. It has a charter that regulates who is allowed to work for and volunteer for the Church that makes public schools, governments, and protestant churches look like a joke.

 

 

The problem wasn't homosexuality.  The problem was priests sexually abusing minors and your Church going to extraordinary lengths to protect those Priests.  Your evasive and morally chicken poo post is why so very many Catholics have left your Church.  

 

Someone like Mahony is not an awful, awful human being because he happened to get some Priests under his jurisdiction who were sexual predators.  He's such an awful, awful man because of how he responded to those acts.  .  

Edited February 1, 2013 by Hasan

[PadrePioOfPietrelcino]

I would assume someone does background checks on priests, but don't know. I know when I was a Baptist, a background check was the first thing run on any applicant when we were searching for a new minister.

I of course can only speak from my experience, but in working with the Church as an adult server, I have had a background check, I had another check done with my seminary application, and I had a full psyc battery done including sexual formation issues. The entire psyc eval was released to my Vocation Director and the Archbishop.

[4588686]

How the Church enforces the charter in the matter of priests and Bishops is the joke.  I had to go through a background check when I taught CCD and Confirmation.  Who runs the background checks on priests?  Who checks that the Bishops are actually following the "charter".  Cool, so the laity is scrutinized and that fixes the institutionalized cover up of abusive and corrupt Bishops!  The charter has no power over the bishops.  Bishops can't be punished or removed if they don't comply.  The charter is simply a policy of what the Bishops should do to the priests.  The Mahony thing has been going on for years as has all this. 

 

 

Well you problem is that you are looking at this situation as a critically minded adult rather than a reactionary propagandist. 

[eagle_eye222001]

People who leave the church over the abuse crisis were hardly your solid faithful Catholic churchgoer.  The abuse crisis was the extra brick that broke the camels back.

 

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2011/11/study-3-of-catholics-left-over-the-sex-abuse-scandals/

 

 

It's been said before, but the rate of sex abuse in the church is on average no more than any other established group in the world.  Ironically, it's even better than the world average by 6% and that still spans a time period from 1950-2002.  But that is a fact you want to forget because it is a lot more fun to disregard reason,logic, and evidence  and attack something you already hate/disagree with for other reasons.

 

http://www.themediareport.com/fast-facts/

 

Of course no one cares that their are virtually no abuse allegations that are coming out that happened in the last decade.  Interesting how it seems all the bad stuff stems from 2-3 decades 1950-1970ish.  If the Catholic Church had not cleaned up its act, there would be massive allegations today as their was back then.  But for some reason, the rate of abuse cases abruptly spiked down.....

 

 

______

 

 

To clarify....

 

Any abuse case is one too many....and it is a fact that many priests failed their duty...along with some bishops and cardinals.  And just criticism is well deserved for those who are guilty.  We do have a justice system....and we should be consistent in it.  Innocent until proven guilty....etc.

 

Rant against Cardinal Mahony because he def. failed.  Ranting against the Catholic Church....no