BishopAccountability.org
	Cardinal Mahony's Actions Deserve to Be Investigated Vindy July 23, 2007 http://www.vindy.com/content/opinion/editorial/289416969401725.php How We See It What did Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles know about the sexual abuse of minors by priests and religious, when did he know it and what did he do about it? Those questions should form the basis of an independent investigation of the archbishop's role in this despicable scandal now that the archdiocese has agreed to pay a record $660 million to over 500 victims of sexual abuse. The court-ordered agreement, which brings to an end more than five years of negotiations, means that Mahony will not have to testify in a trial about his actions in what victims groups have said was concealment and cover-up of criminal and sinful acts by priests, deacons and others. But that does not mean he should be given a pass by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI has said that clerical sex abuses are "egregious crimes" that have damaged the standing of the church and its clergy. Before becoming pope, he denounced what he called "filth" in the church "even among those ... in the priesthood." He must now prove the sincerity of those words by ordering the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops to launch a formal, independent investigation of Cardinal Mahony. Ever since this scandal that continues to plague the American Catholic Church became public several years ago, we have decried the cover-up by the hierarchy of the church of hundreds of sexual abuse cases documented throughout the country, and have criticized the Vatican for giving the matter short shrift. The late Pope John Paul II seemed to have had a blind spot when it came to holding bishops accountable for the protection afforded priests and other religious in their dioceses who were accused of being pedophiles. It has been well documented by various newspapers around the country that in many instances the accused were assigned to other parishes, rather than being removed from their pastoral duties. Cardinal Law The most publicized case involved former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, who not only avoided punishment for protecting abusive priests, but was rewarded by Pope John Paul with a cushy assignment in Rome. In 2005, a grand jury investigating sexual-abuse allegations in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia accused former archbishops and other leaders of concealing and facilitating clergy sex abuse of children for decades. Jurors, who investigated the diocese for more than three years, found that at least 63 priests sexually abused hundreds of minors and that Cardinals John Krol and Anthony J. Bevilacqua "excused and enabled the abuse," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The archdiocese of Los Angeles is the most populous in the country, but even so, it will have to liquidate investments, secure a bank loan and sell up to 50 non-parish properties to pay its share of between $250 million and $370 million of the $660 million settlement. The rest of the money will come from the church's insurers and various religious orders. Given the economic impact of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal — there can be no pricetag for the breach of faith and trust — the Vatican must hold Cardinal Mahony to account. It is not enough for him to apologize to the victims of sexual abuse and to say that he wished he could erase their years of misery. He must answer to a higher authority — here on earth.
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