LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
For Roger Mahony, clergy abuse cases were a threat to agenda – Part 1
Part 2
BY HARRIET RYAN, ASHLEY POWERS AND VICTORIA KIM
As the clergy abuse scandal unfolds nationwide, Roger Mahony’s moral authority — and his legacy — erode.
On a brilliant Sunday afternoon, Cardinal Roger Mahony stood before thousands jammed into a vacant lot overlooking the 101 Freeway. The archbishop, resplendent in gold and crimson, told the crowd that the cathedral that would rise from the dirt would stand for centuries as a monument to the church’s stature in Los Angeles.
“This revered ground is blessed and dedicated to God for the ages to come,” he declared. Three hundred doves fluttered into a cloudless sky, a choir of 800 sang and the faithful roared their approval.
In 1997, a dozen years into his tenure, Mahony was at the height of his power. He was a national advocate for immigrants in the country illegally, and his voice carried sway on issues including welfare reform and the racial tensions arising from the O.J. Simpson trial. Residents — Catholic and others — consistently voted him among the region’s most popular public figures in opinion polls.
But in a locked cabinet in the archdiocese headquarters, files bulged with evidence that Mahony was covering up sexual abuse of children.
Manila folders alphabetized by abusers’ names contained letters from distraught parents, graphic confessions from priests, and memos between the archbishop and his aides discussing how to stymie police investigations and avoid lawsuits.
To Mahony, the meticulous files were a record of problems solved and scandals averted. In the years to come, however, it would become increasingly hard — and finally impossible — to keep the problem of sexual abuse locked away.
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