BishopAccountability.org
	Kepeat after Me: Not a Target Catholic Culture February 2, 2010 http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otr.cfm?id=5220 Cardinal Roger Mahony is not repeat NOT a target of a grand jury investigation, the Los Angeles archdiocese assures us. That's certainly comforting. It's always nice to know that your cardinal-archbishop isn't the prime concern of the local prosecutors. Is he? The main target of the prosecutors, CNN tells us, is a laicized priest, Michael Baker, who has already been convicted on abuse charges. Notice: already convicted. Already serving a 10-year sentence. There's no pressing reason for a prosecutor to go after Baker. He's already behind bars. He doesn't have deep pockets. Tacking on another conviction would not bring any great benefit-- either to the public safety or to the resume of an ambitious prosecutor. On the other hand, if Baker's case could be used as the basis for a case against a more prominent defendant-- say, someone who wears bright red caps, someone who heads a corporation sole with millions of dollars of assets-- well now that's a more promising target for a grand-jury investigation. We have already heard plausible reports that: * Cardinal Mahony was aware of Baker's misconduct in 1986, kept it secret for more than 15 years, and shuffled the abusive priest from one parish to another * Baker planned to turn himself in to police, but the cardinal persuaded him not to do so * Cardinal Mahony ordered other archdiocesan officials to keep Baker's secrets, despite mandatory legal reporting requirements To a prosecutor, that pattern of behavior might be more than casually interesting. The Los Angeles Weekly, noting that the cardinal's grand-jury appearance was followed up quickly by reports that his successor will soon be appointed, had the impertinence to question "whether Mahony wants to get out of Dodge before this inquisition starts to really burn..." But that's preposterous, because Cardinal Mahony is not a target of the grand jury investigation.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.