LOS ANGELES (CA)
LA Weekly
By Dennis Romero
Fri., Feb. 1 2013
A day after retired Cardinal and L.A. Archbishop Emeritus Roger Mahony was stripped of his official church duties by his successor, José Gomez, Mahony fired off a letter to the current archbishop defending his actions in the L.A. Archdiocese sex-abuse scandal.
Documents released by the church as part of a 2007 global settlement over abuse allegations indicate that Mahony went along with a plan to transfer accused priests out of state to keep them away from authorities:
Today Mahony said his actions were “standard across the country for all Arch/Dioceses” and that Gomez never before questioned his record:
Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices, or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors.
I have stated time and time again that I made mistakes, especially in the mid-1980s. I apologized for those mistakes, and committed myself to make certain that the Archdiocese was safe for everyone.
Unfortunately, I cannot return now to the 1980s and reverse actions and decisions made then. But when I retired as the active Archbishop, I handed over to you an Archdiocese that was second to none in protecting children and youth.
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