Roger Michael MahonyKGCHS (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno from 1975 to 1980 and bishop of the Diocese of Stockton from 1980 to 1985.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood in 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Fresno in January 1975 and consecrated bishop in March 1975. Mahony was then appointed bishop of Stockton in 1980. In 1985, he was appointed archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II, and became the first Los Angeles native to hold the office. The pope created Mahony a cardinal in 1991, and he voted in the papal conclaves that elected Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.
During his tenure as Los Angeles archbishop, Mahony was instrumental in dividing the archdiocese into five administrative subdivisions and in guiding the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which opened in September 2002. Mahony has also been identified as a key figure in the cover-up of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, where dozens of abusive priests were moved to other churches rather than prosecuted. In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles apologized for abuses by priests and announced a record-breaking settlement of $660 million for 508 victims.[1]
In 2011, Mahony reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops and was succeeded by Archbishop José H. Gómez on March 1.[2] On January 31, 2013, Gómez relieved Mahony of his public and episcopal duties in the archdiocese, following the release of personnel files documenting priests' sexual abuse during Mahony's tenure.
Early life and priesthood
Roger Mahony was born on February 27, 1936, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, the son of Victor and Loretta (née Baron) Mahony. He has a twin brother, Louis, and an older brother, Neil. Roger Mahony attended St. Charles Borromeo Grammar School in North Hollywood and Los Angeles College.[3]
On February 15, 1980, Mahony was appointed Bishop of Stockton by Pope John Paul II, as announced by the nuncio, Jean Jadot.[3] Mahony terminated two extern priests for sexual abuse during his tenure at Stockton.
In 1980, shortly after Mahony became Bishop of Stockton, a parent wrote to the diocese accusing the Fr Oliver O'Grady of molesting his two sons. Mahony in 1982 then transferred O'Grady to another parish. Soon more accusations arose from the new parish.[5] In 1984, the local police closed an investigation into O'Grady after a diocesan lawyer promised to keep him away from children.[6] In December 1984, despite the earlier promise, Mahony transferred O'Grady to another parish.
In 1998, Mahony, then Archbishop of Los Angeles, returned to Stockton to testify in a civil trial against the diocese. A jury later awarded $30 million in damages to two of O'Grady's victims.[6]
Archbishop of Los Angeles and Cardinal-Priest
Mahony with former U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA)
On July 16, 1985, Mahony was appointed as Archbishop of Los Angeles by John Paul II, becoming the first native Angeleno to hold that office. He was created cardinal-priest of the Basilica dei Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome by John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1991.
The1994 Northridge earthquake necessitated the abandonment of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana. Mahony then began planning the new $190 million Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Many Catholics were upset about its non-traditional design and high project cost. In response, Mahony noted that foundations and donors were funding the new cathedral, not parishes. He also said that the archdiocese needed a mother church and religious center to unite its people.[7][8] One of the largest Catholic churches in the United States, the new cathedral was dedicated on September 2, 2002.[3]
In 1987, Mahony announced the auction of the Doheny rare book collection at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. The philanthropist Carrie Estelle Doheny had donated the collection, which included a Gutenberg Bible and a first edition of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to the seminary during the 1940s and 1950s. Mahony cited the financial needs of the archdiocese and the high cost of insuring the collections as the reasons for its sale. The proceeds would fund an endowment for training new priests.[9]
The auction raised $37.8 million for the archdiocese. However, by 1996 the archdiocese had spent as much as $25 million of the proceeds on other projects, including $1 million to renovate Mahony's residence.[10]
During Mahony's tenure in Los Angeles, the number of priests declined while the number of lay ministers increased. Mahony remarked on this:
"What some refer to as a 'vocations crisis' is, rather, one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council. It is a sign of God's deep love for the Church, and an invitation to a more creative and effective ordering of gifts and energy in the Body of Christ."[11][12]
On April 6, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop José H. Gómez as the coadjutor archbishop in Los Angeles to assist Mahony.[15] After the Vatican accepted Mahony's resignation as archbishop of Los Angeles on February 28, 2011, Gómez automatically succeeded him. The formal ceremony of transition was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, with Mahony's resignation taking canonical effect on March 1, 2011.[16]
On January 31, 2013, Gómez relieved Mahony of all of his remaining public and administrative duties due to his actions during the Church's sexual abuse crisis.[19][20] Mahony remained "a priest in good standing" and could still celebrate Mass, but could no longer speak publicly or exercise a bishop's responsibilities. such as performing confirmations.[19][21] Critics called Gómez's action "purely symbolic punishment" and "hand-slapping...a nearly meaningless gesture", and noted that Mahony remained "a powerful man" in the church.[20]
In May 2013, after officiating at a Confirmation service, Mahony told a Los Angeles Times reporter that the ban on confirmations was "news to him". Mahony added, "I've been doing them every week and I'm going to be doing them every week... So go home."[26]
In 2018, a group launched a petition drive calling on the archdiocese to remove Mahony from St. Charles Borromeo Church. On September 16, 2018, during a Mass, demonstrators gathered in front of the church to protest Mahony's involvement in the Church's sexual abuse scandal.[27]
In 2021, Mahony criticized “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church”, a resolution proposed in the USCCB. The resolution called on bishops to ban from Communion all Catholic public officials who supported abortion rights for women.[28] Mahony stated,
“First of all, we are a democratic republic. Our country’s path is one of separation of church and state. And so, it’s a very difficult position for politicians, Catholics, who are pressured by some in the Church to make all of the decisions based on Catholic Church doctrine.” [28]
Films
In 1992, Mahony published a pastoral letterFilm Makers, Film Viewers on the topic of television news and the entertainment industry. In the letter, he rejected film censorship, instead advocating that filmmakers and television writers strive for "human values" when portraying sexual situations and violence in their products.[29]
Mahony personally lobbied the US senators from California, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, to have the US Senate consider a comprehensive immigration reform bill, rather than the House bill.[32] Mahony also blamed the US Congress for the illegal immigration crisis, due to its failure to act on the issue over the previous 20 years. He supported instead the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006.[33][34] Neither plan passed Congress.
Mass
Mahony in September 1997 published a pastoral letter on the Mass entitled "Gather Faithfully Together: A Guide for Sunday Mass".[35] The letter called all parishes to plan and celebrate each Sunday Mass in order to deepen the faith-life of all Catholics through the Eucharist.[36]Mother Angelica, the host of a popular program on the Eternal Word Television Network, commented that the pastoral letter was inconsistent with existing official liturgical directives set by the Vatican.[37]
In 1988, Mahony adopted what he termed as a zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse allegations against clergy. In 1992, at a national meeting of Catholic bishops, Mahony stated that the church needed to do more to combat sexual abuse of minors. In 2002, he ordered the removal of 12 priests in the archdiocese from ministry due to credible accusations of sexual abuse.[38]
In February 2004, the archdiocese issued the Report to the People of God. The report contained an apology from Mahony for the failing of the archdiocese in handling accusations of sexual abuse. It included a detailed list of priests and circumstances in cases of known abuse. It also described the development of archdiocesan policy related to sexual abuse, and case studies of accused priests. It included details of the most significant cases in the archdiocese's history. However, Report to the People of God failed to include information on 33 priests who were accused of sexual abuse, but whose cases lacked confirmatory evidence. Despite strong criticism from the media, the archdiocese blocked the release of this information.[39][40]
In 2007, the archdiocese apologized again for abuses by priests and announced a legal settlement of $660 million to 508 victims, averaging $1.3 million per plaintiff. Mahony described the abuse as a "terrible sin and crime". The agreement settled all outstanding civil lawsuits at that time against the archdiocese.[1]
In 2013, after Mahony's retirement as archbishop, the archdiocese released memos written by Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry to Mahony in 1986 and 1987, discussing potential legal accountability for priests accused of sexual abuse. Curry recommended that the archdiocese encourage priests seeking therapy to avoid using therapists who might report them to law enforcement. At the same time, Mahony wrote the director of the Servants of the Paracletes center in New Mexico, which treated priests who had committed sexual abuse. Mahony wanted to prevent any of his priests at the center from returning to Los Angeles. He cited possible lawsuits by their victims, whom the archdiocese had been assured that the priests would never return.[41]
In February 2020, Mahony was named as a defendant in a lawsuit where he was accused of shielding convicted ex-priest Michael Baker.[42] In April 2021, Mahony was accused in a lawsuit of sexually molesting a teenage boy.[43][bettersourceneeded]
Edward Michael Egan was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000 and as Archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern coastal portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, and the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and its present archbishop is José Horacio Gómez Velasco. With over five million professing members and weekly liturgies celebrated in 32 languages, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is numerically the single largest and most ethnically diverse archdiocese in the United States.
Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003. Bevilacqua previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1983 to 1987 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn from 1980 to 1983. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991.
Justin Francis Rigali is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. Following a sex abuse probe into the Catholic Church, Cardinal Rigali resigned in 2011.
The Diocese of Stockton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Central Valley and Mother Lode region of California in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco
Norberto Rivera Carrera is a Mexican prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Mexico from 1995 to 2017. He was made a cardinal in 1998. He was Bishop of Tehuacán from 1985 to 1995.
José Horacio Gómez Velasco is a Mexican-American prelate of the Catholic Church. He became the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California in 2011. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Denver in Colorado from 2001 to 2004 and as Archbishop of San Antonio in Texas from 2004 to 2010.
The Diocese of Fresno (Latin: Dioecesis Fresnensis is a diocese of the Latin Church in the Central Valley of California in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
William Joseph Levada was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. From May 2005 until June 2012, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI; he was the highest ranking American in the Roman Curia. He was previously the Archbishop of Portland in Oregon from 1986 to 1995, and then Archbishop of San Francisco from 1995 to 2005. While serving as archbishop, he was criticized for covering up sexual abuse by priests within his jurisdiction. Levada was created a cardinal in 2006 by Benedict XVI.
Gerald Eugene Wilkerson is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1997 to 2015 and as apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Monterey for six months in 2018 and 2019.
Thomas John Curry is an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Curry served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1994 to 2018. From 1994 to 2013, he was episcopal vicar of the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region of the archdiocese.
Armando Xavier Ochoa is an American Catholic retired prelate who served as Bishop of Fresno, Bishop of El Paso and as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
St. John's Seminary is a Private Catholic graduate seminary in Camarillo, California.
Gabino Zavala is a Mexican-American Catholic former prelate who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1994 until 2012. He resigned at the request of Pope Benedict XVI after admitting he was the father of two children.
Stephen Edward Blaire was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Stockton from 1999 to 2018.
The sexual abuse scandal in Los Angeles archdiocese covered events that were documented beginning in the 1930s, but most publicity was related to events of the 1970s through 1990s. Priests accused of molesting children or adults in the parish were typically reassigned, without informing new parishes of charges against them, as the church protected its staff. Changes in policy took place, a dozen priests were dismissed in 2002, the church issued an apology and detailed report in 2004, and in 2007, the Archdiocese reached a settlement with 508 victims of $660 million, a recordbreaking amount. More lawsuits are expected when the California statute of limitations will be temporarily lifted on January 1, 2020.
Alejandro Salazar is a Costa Rican-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Salazar served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2004 to 2018.
The sexual abuse scandal in Stockton diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
Joseph Vincent Brennan is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Fresno since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2015 to 2019.
Alejandro Dumbrigue Aclan is a Philippine-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California since 2019.
↑ Davis, Margaret Leslie (2019). The lost Gutenberg: the astounding story of one book's five-hundred-year odyssey. [New York]. ISBN9781592408672. OCLC1076371236.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Mahony, Roger. "As I Have Done for You: A Pastoral Letter on Ministry". Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
↑ Official Catholic Directory 1982–2010. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
