LOS ANGELES (CA)
U-T San Diego
By Gillian Flaccus Associated Press
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced Thursday night he has relieved retired Cardinal Roger Mahony of his remaining duties and a former top aide to Mahony has stepped down from his post, on the same night the church released thousands of pages of personnel files of priests accused of sexual abuse.
“I find these files to be brutal and painful reading,” Gomez said in a statement, referring to the newly released files made public by the church Thursday night hours after a judge’s order. “The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children.”
Gomez announced he has “informed Cardinal Mahony that he will no longer have any administrative or public duties.”
Mahony, who retired in 2011 after more than a quarter-century at the helm of the archdiocese, has publicly apologized for mistakes he made in dealing with priests who molested children.
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