VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud
Vatican City, February 19 – A large number of Catholic faithful on Tuesday called for American Cardinal Roger Mahony to stay away from the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope amid a growing scandal over his alleged role in covering up sex abuse by priests in his former Los Angeles archdiocese. The deluge of opposition found expression on social networks and media blogs after the 76-year-old ex-archbishop posted a message on his Twitter account asking for prayer so that “we might elect the best pope for the Church of today and tomorrow” following the resignation of Benedict XVI with effect from the end of this month. “#Mahony Cardinal, please, stay home!” said one Twitter user, using a hashtag to identify the word Mahony as a trending topic. #Mahony voting for a new pope rankles some Catholics. I can see why!” said another. Mahony will be questioned under oath February 23 about how he handled Father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera, a visiting Mexican priest who allegedly molested 26 children in the Los Angeles archdiocese in 1987 during his tenure.
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