LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Steve Lopez
February 2, 2013
Do we have a little spat going on now at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles?
Archbishop Jose Gomez and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony seemed to be going at each other in recent days over the molestation scandal that just won’t die, thanks to Mahony’s years-long efforts to keep all the dirty little secrets under wraps.
On Wednesday, Bishop Gomez issued a rebuke, announcing that Mahony was being relieved of public duties now that the priest personnel records have been made public. And by the way, I’m not clear as to why it took Gomez two years to look into the files he describes as making “brutal and painful reading,” for their descriptions of behavior that was “terribly sad and evil.”
But even as Mahony was being kicked aside by Gomez, church spokesman Tod Tamberg was eagerly telling us Mahony is still “a priest in good standing” who can celebrate Mass and even, as a cardinal, vote for pope.
A priest in good standing? What in the world do you have to do to fall out of favor?
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.