UNITED STATES
Washington Post
By Mathew N. Schmalz
With retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony now stripped of his public duties for his mishandling of the sexual abuses cases in his archdiocese, there is a temptation to be either celebratory or cynical.
It’s either an important step in the purification of Catholicism, or it’s an insufficient punishment for a terrible series of crimes.
Does it mark a new beginning for American Catholicism or has nothing really changed?
It all depends upon whether the lesson learned is about punishment or transparency.
When Archbishop Jose Gomez removed his predecessor from acting publicly as a bishop, it was obviously just. Given the extensive evidence that he hid abusers from justice himself, it would be scandalous for Cardinal Mahony to be allowed to participate in the sacraments of confirmation or ordination, which are to be performed by bishops. While Cardinal Mahony has spoken about his “index cards” with names of victims for whom he prays, many felt that his repentance and acknowledgment of responsibility did not run deep enough. If one wants evidence for a purification of the church–as Benedict XVI has called for–one might very well point to this as an important beginning.
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