LOS ANGELES (CA)
Irish Times
Cardinal Roger Mahony, who retired less than two years ago as the leader of America’s largest Catholic archdiocese, has been removed from all public duties by his successor, Archbishop José Gomez, as the church complies with a court order to release thousands of pages of internal documents that show how the cardinal shielded priests who sexually abused children.
The documents, released as part of a record $660 million settlement in 2007 with the victims of abuse, are the strongest evidence so far that top officials for years purposely tried to conceal abuse from law enforcement officials.
The files, which go from the 1940s to the present, are the latest in a series of revelations that suggest that the church continued to manoeuvre against law enforcement officials even after the extent of the abuse crisis emerged.
Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry, who was the vicar for clergy and one of the cardinal’s deputies and adviser on sexual abuse, also stepped down as Bishop of Santa Barbara.
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