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…