Roger Mahony

His Eminence Roger Michael Mahony
Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles
Diocese	Los Angeles
See	Los Angeles
Appointed	12 July 1985
Installed	5 September 1985
Term ended	1 March 2011
Predecessor	Timothy Manning
Successor	José Horacio Gómez
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Quattro Coronati
Previous post(s)	Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno (1975–1980) Titular Bishop of Tamascani (1975 - 1980) Bishop of Stockton (1980–1985)
Orders
Ordination	1 May 1962
Consecration	19 March 1975 by Hugh Aloysius Donohoe
Created cardinal	28 June 1991
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	Roger Michael Mahony (1936-02-27) 27 February 1936 Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Victor and Loretta Mahony
Motto	To reconcile God's people
Coat of arms

Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment as Los Angeles archbishop, he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno from 1975 to 1980 and as Bishop of Stockton from 1980 to 1985.

Born in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles and raised in the city's San Fernando Valley area, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno in 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in January 1975 and consecrated bishop in March 1975. He was then appointed Bishop of Stockton in 1980. In 1985, Mahony was appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II, and became the first Los Angeles native to hold the office. He was made a cardinal in 1991, and as such 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. He has also been an instrumental figure in the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal. He reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops in 2011 and was succeeded by José Horacio Gómez on March 1, 2011. On January 31, 2013, Archbishop Gómez relieved Mahony of his public and episcopal duties in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, following the release of personnel files documenting priest sexual-abuse cases during part of Mahony's tenure.

Early life and priesthood

Roger Michael Mahony was born in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, the son of Victor and Loretta (née Baron) Mahony. He has a twin brother, Louis, and an older brother, Neil. As a child he attended St. Charles Borromeo Grammar School in North Hollywood and at age 14, he entered Los Angeles College, the junior seminary of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

After studying at the Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary and St. John's Seminary, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood on May 1, 1962, by the Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, Aloysius Joseph Willinger, CSsR. He graduated from The Catholic University of America in 1964 with a master's degree in social work. For the next 13 years, he held pastoral and curial assignments in the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno and the newly formed Diocese of Fresno. He was named a monsignor in February 1967, and also taught social work at Fresno State University during this period.

Episcopal career

Styles of Roger Mahony
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Los Angeles

Coat of arms of Roger Mahony, as found on the cathedra in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles

On January 7, 1975, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Fresno and titular bishop of Tamascani. Mahony received his episcopal consecration on the following March 19 from the Bishop of Fresno, Hugh Donohue, with Bishops William Johnson and John Cummins serving as co-consecrators. That year, the Governor, Jerry Brown, appointed Mahony the first chair of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, where he worked with the United Farm Workers and various growers in the state to resolve agricultural labor disputes.

On February 15, 1980, Mahony was appointed Bishop of Stockton by Pope John Paul II, as announced by the nuncio, Jean Jadot. Mahony terminated two extern priests for sexual abuse during his tenure at Stockton. On July 16, 1985, Mahony was promoted to Archbishop of Los Angeles, the first native Angeleno to hold the office. Mahony was created Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1991.

After the former Cathedral of Saint Vibiana was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Mahony began plans to construct the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, one of the largest Catholic churches in the United States. It was dedicated on September 2, 2002. Mahony was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI, as well as the 2013 Papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.

Cardinal Mahony with Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA)

Civic involvement

Mahony was a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America. He served on a number of committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, including those on Liturgy, Pro-Life Activities, and Migration & Refugees. He is still a consultant for the latter two committees. In the Vatican, he was a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1984–1989) and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (1986–1991). He remains a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (1989–present), Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See (2000–present), and Congregation for Eastern Churches.

Mahony spoke out on provisions in immigration bills, such as the Sensenbrenner-King Bill, debated by Congress in late 2005 and 2006. He wrote to President Bush that certain proposed measures would effectively outlaw the provision of charitable assistance and religious ministry to individuals not in valid immigration status. On Ash Wednesday, 2006, Mahony announced that he would order the clergy and laity of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to ignore H.R. 4437 if it were to become law. He personally lobbied senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to have the Senate consider a comprehensive immigration reform bill, rather than the enforcement-only bill that passed the House of Representatives. Mahony also blamed the Congress for the illegal immigration crisis due to their failure to act on the issue in the previous 20 years, opposed H.R. 4437 as punitive and open to abusive interpretation, and supported S. 2611.

Controversies

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Many Catholics were upset about the non-traditional design and the amount of money that was spent on the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Mahony defended the expense of the new cathedral to replace the previous earthquake-damaged cathedral citing the need for a community to have a religious center that unites people in faith and spirituality.

Pastoral Letter

To prepare for the new Millennium, Mahony wrote a Pastoral Letter on the Mass entitled "Gather Faithfully Together: A Guide for Sunday Mass". 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. Some, including televangelist Mother Angelica, found "Gather Faithfully Together" to be gravely inconsistent with existing official liturgical directives set by the Catholic Church. Others, however, found the letter to be visionary, inviting the Church to a more fruitful celebration of the Eucharist.

Vocations

The number of priestly vocations declined under Mahony's leadership. By contrast, lay ministries grew and Mahony has said that "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."

Sexual abuse cases

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Los Angeles archdiocese

Upon becoming Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1986, Mahony took an active stance in addressing sexual abuse cases. In 1988, the Archdiocese adopted a zero tolerance policy. In 1992, Mahony publicly addressed the need to do more to combat sexual abuse at a national meeting of Catholic bishops. In 2002, Mahony directed that as many as a dozen Southern California priests be forced to leave the church, in compliance with the church's promises in a 2001 settlement, resulting in praise from the victim's attorney in that case.

In February, 2004, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles issued the landmark Report to the People of God, containing a direct signed apology from Cardinal Roger Mahony and a detailed list of priests and circumstances in cases of known abuse. The report further detailed the evolution of its abuse policy, and contained case studies of accused priests to detail how awareness and understanding of their crimes unfolded. The report contained details of the most significant cases in the history of the archdiocese but declined to release details of 33 priests who were accused but in whose cases confirmatory evidence was absent. The church would continue to fight against release of details on these priests despite strong criticism from media such as the Los Angeles Times.

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles again apologized for abuses by priests and reached a record-breaking settlement with 508 victims worth $660 million, with an average of $1.3 million for each plaintiff. Mahony described the abuse as a "terrible sin and crime". The agreement settled all outstanding civil lawsuits against the archdiocese. The deal dwarfs the $157 million settlement paid by the Archdiocese of Boston since Massachusetts law places a legal dollar cap on how much money a non-profit group can be required to pay.

The 2006 documentary Deliver Us From Evil chronicles accusations that Mahony knew that a priest serving under him, Oliver O'Grady, a native of the Republic of Ireland, had a two decade history of sexually abusing and molesting children (including one infant) but failed to keep him away from children. The film claims that in 1984, a Stockton police investigation into sexual abuse allegations against O'Grady was reportedly closed after diocesan officials promised to remove the priest from any contact with children. O'Grady, who admitted to a sexual relationship with the mother of one of his alleged victims, had stated to a medical practicioner that he touched the boy inapporpriately while sleeping over in the family home. Police investigated, but the child could not confirm the abuse and the case was not pursued by authorities. Mahony reassigned O'Grady to a parish approximately 50 miles (80 km) east, in San Andreas, where O'Grady continued to molest and rape children. Not long after, Mahony was promoted from bishop of Stockton to archbishop of Los Angeles.

In 2013, newly released memos from Monsignor Thomas John Curry to Mahony from 1986 and 1987 revealed specific discussions regarding potential legal accountability for priests, including recommending that priests should seek to avoid therapists who might report them to police. Mahony also wrote to the director of a treatment center in New Mexico seeking to prevent accused priests from returning to Los Angeles. Among the reasons cited was to prevent stimulating victims who were assured that the priests would not return from filing lawsuits.

In January 2013 The New York Times editorialized: "No member of the Roman Catholic hierarchy fought longer and more energetically than Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles to conceal the decades-long scandal involving the rape and intimidation of children by rogue priests. For years, the cardinal withheld seamy church records from parents, victims and the public, brandishing endless litigation and fatuous claims of confidentiality."

Retirement

On April 6, 2010, with Mahony due to reach his mandatory retirement age of 75 the following year, the Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI named San Antonio archbishop José Horacio Gómez as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles with immediate right of succession to Mahony. Gómez succeeded Mahony on February 28, 2011 after the ceremony of transition held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, with his resignation taking canonical effect on March 1, 2011.

On January 31, 2013, in conjunction with the release of decades of clergy files by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archbishop Gómez relieved Mahony of all of his remaining public and administrative duties. The move was called a "meaningless gesture" by critics, who indicated that Gómez was more interested in forestalling additional criticism of the church upon release of the files than truly admonishing Mahony. Reports indicated that his duties chiefly remained intact and that he was still "a powerful man" in the Church. Gómez's announcement came in the wake of a court order requiring the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to release its unredacted files on clergy sexual abuse. According to the archdiocese, Mahony remains "a priest in good standing" and may still celebrate Mass, but he may no longer speak publicly or exercise any responsibilities ordinarily reserved for a bishop, such as administering the sacrament of Confirmation. He still holds the titles of Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles, and retains his Vatican appointments including his eligibility to vote in papal conclaves. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, a number of Catholic groups voiced opposition to Mahony's voting in a papal conclave so soon after his censure; however, Mahony publicly stated his intention to participate in the conclave. On 12 March 2013, Mahony entered the 2013 Papal conclave, despite opposition from the Catholic group Catholics United.

In his retirement, Mahony intends to devote more time to advocacy on behalf of immigrants, an issue that he has supported for many years. He resides at his childhood parish in North Hollywood, and is eligible to participate in any future papal conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on February 27, 2016.

Episcopal succession

Ordination history of Roger Mahony
History Episcopal consecration Consecrated by Hugh Aloysius Donohoe Date March 19, 1975
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Roger Mahony as principal consecrator George Patrick Ziemann February 23, 1987 Armando Xavier Ochoa February 23, 1987 Carl Anthony Fisher February 23, 1987 Sylvester Donovan Ryan May 31, 1990 Stephen Edward Blaire May 31, 1990 Joseph Martin Sartoris March 19, 1994 Thomas John Curry March 19, 1994 Gabino Zavala March 19, 1994 George Hugh Niederauer January 25, 1995 Gerald Eugene Wilkerson January 21, 1998 Edward William Clark March 26, 2001 Oscar Azarcon Solis February 10, 2004 Alexander Salazar November 4, 2004

External links

• Mahony's blog
• Archdiocese of Los Angeles website
• "Roger Mahony". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.
• Mahony's speech at the National Press Club, delivered 25-05-2000
• "Called By God To Help", editorial by Mahony in The New York Times, published 2006-03-22
• "Los Angeles Cardinal Hid Abuse, Files Show" New York Times, 21 Jan 2013
• Landsberg, Mitchell (February 23, 2011). "Roger Mahony leaves a mixed legacy: Once seen as a possible candidate for pope, the cardinal's career was derailed by the church sex scandal". Los Angeles Times.