CALIFORNIA
Huffington Post
By MARTHA MENDOZA 02/25/13
MENLO PARK, Calif. — The former archbishop of San Francisco said Monday that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has a rightful place among Vatican officials who will choose the next pope, even though Mahony has been battered in recent days by disclosures about his role in covering up clergy sex abuse.
The comments by Cardinal William Levada, a high-ranking Vatican official until recently, came in the wake of a grass-roots campaign to shame Mahony into refraining from participating because of his role protecting sexually abusive priests.
Mahony left for Rome over the weekend after recently released church documents showed he had covered up for other priests who raped and molested children.
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