An American cardinal accused of poorly managing the issue of sexual abuse committed by clerics was included in the list of those who will play an official role in the closing ceremonies of Pope Francis’ coffin and his funeral.
Cardinal Roger Mahony, a retired archbishop of Los Angeles, is part of a group of nine cardinals and a small number of priests and bishops who will participate in the ceremonies that will include the Pope’s funeral in the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
Mahony, 89, renovated himself as archbishop in 2011. In 2013 he was fired from all his official functions in the Archdiocese, although these functions have never been specified.
However, the American cardinal is mentioned as participating in the next ceremonies such as “Cardinal Father”, a position within the College of Cardinals. The college includes “deacons cardinals”, “priest cardinals” and “cardinals bishops.”
Mahony occupies a senior position among the cardinals priests, since he is one of those who have been in office for a long time – those who have served more time than he is in the nineties’ house. Other cardinals participating in ceremonies include Giovanni Battista Re, which is the dean of the Cardinian College; Pietro Parolin, who is the oldest Cardinal Bishop under 80 and is the Secretary of State of the Holy See; and Dominique Mamberti, the “protodiácon” that will tell the world when a new Pope is chosen.
A Holy See spokesman said Mahony was involved because he was the oldest priest cardinal available to participate in the ceremonies as others could not participate.
This is not the first time Mahony’s involvement at a time of papal transition causes controversy. In the period preceding the 2013 Conclave, which elected Francisco, a petition was signed in Los Angeles asking him not to participate. This time, due to his age, the cardinal has no right to vote – only under 80 are eligible for this purpose.
Mahony, who directed the Archdiocese of Los Angeles between 1985 and 2011, repeatedly apologized for the way he handled sexual abuse by clerics. In 2013, the church’s internal records revealed that in the 1980s he and his vicar to the clergy did not rule out the priests accused of abuse and did not cooperate with the police authorities.
The cardinal’s successor, archbishop José Gomez, said in 2013 that Mahony will “cease to have any administrative or public functions” in Los Angeles, although the archdiocese later clarified that he was still a “priest in good position”.
Mahony responded to Gomez’s ban by telling him that “not only once over the last few years he had raised any question about policies, practices or procedures to deal with the problem of sexual care of the clergy involving minors.” He said he had repeatedly recognized the mistakes he had made “especially in the mid -1980s” regarding abuse, but had delivered an archdiocese that was “unparalleled in the protection of children and young people.”
The scandal of sexual abuse committed by clerics led to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to pay historically high compensation. In 2007, he paid $ 660 million (over 580 million euros) in a financial agreement with 508 victims. And last year, he paid another $ 880 million (over 773 million euros) to 1353 survivors in cases dating back to several decades. But Mahony was also accused of poorly managed the case of an abuser priest when he was a bishop of Stockton.
For many years, Mahony was a prominent figure in the American Church hierarchy and considered a strong voice in favor of immigrants, workers’ rights and the importance of Hispanic Catholics for the American Church.
During his pontificate, Pope Francis ordered a series of important reforms for dealing with the scourge of clerical sexual abuse, but experts say it will be up to their successor to implement them.
On Thursday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles described Mahony’s official role in ceremonies as a blessing in a statement to CNN.
“Cardinal Mahony is our Archbishop Emeritus. He renovated himself in 2011 as Archbishop of Angeles and continued his ministry in our Archdiocese as a retired archbishop,” said the Archdiocese. “He has always been in good position.”
He continued, “We are blessed to have Cardinal Mahony representing our archdiocese in Rome to the funeral of our holy priest and for the election of our new Pope.”
