Cardinal Mahony ordains 12 men to the priesthood in LA

And has some, well, good things to say to them.

It's a small encouragement to me. One of my friends is considering becoming a seminarian in LA.

Pigs Fly: Cardinal Mahony bars liberal Aussie bishop from speaking

Wonders never cease, and I'm glad they don't.

Australian Bishop Geoffrey Robinson was recently condemned for "doctrinal difficulties" by the Australian Bishops Conference, and when Voice of the Faithful invited him to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to deliver a lecture, none other than Cardinal Mahony decided to step in:

Cardinal Roger Mahony has denied an Australian bishop permission to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles after the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement warning of “doctrinal difficulties” present in the bishop’s writings. (CNA)

How Cardinal Mahony handled it:

Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony in a May 9 letter asked Bishop Robinson not to speak in his archdiocese.

Saying he was “once again” writing regarding Bishop Robinson’s scheduled June 12 speaking engagement in the archdiocese, Cardinal Mahony said, “Your letter informing me of your coming appearance made it clear that you were not seeking my permission or approval, that you were planning to come regardless.”

In his letter, Cardinal Mahony said he had recently learned of the Australian bishops’ statement about the bishop’s book. He also said he had learned that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops, has urged Bishop Robinson to cancel his U.S. visit.

Cardinal Mahony requested Bishop Robinson to cancel his visit, citing Canon 763 of Canon Law. The canon pertains to a bishop’s duty to safeguard the teachings of the Church in his diocese.

“Under the provisions of Canon 763, I hereby deny you permission to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” the cardinal wrote. He also urged Bishop Robinson to cancel his entire speaking tour and to work with the Australian bishops’ conference, saying he would expect him to “follow exactly” their recommendations.

[update: here is a link with the original full text of the Cardinal's letter.]

Let's ponder what this means: Cardinal Mahony has chosen to use his authority as a bishop under canon law to "safeguard the teachings of the Church in his diocese" when a dissenting bishop was invited to speak by a (dissenting) private Catholic group.

Even if the Cardinal was motivated by a fear that Bishop Robinson was being disrespectful of his authority, the bottom line is that Cardinal Mahony did the correct thing, and a brave one. He even managed to get on the bad side of Voice of the Faithful:

Dan Bartley, president of Voice of the Faithful, criticized Cardinal Mahony’s refusal of permission to Bishop Robinson’s Los Angeles lecture.

“Why is a loyal Catholic bishop prevented from asking honest questions in his search for the truth in the aftermath of the worst scandal in the modern Church?” Bartley said.

A statement from Voice of the Faithful said the ban would harm the Church, saying Bishop Robinson “obviously loves the Church.” The statement suggested that the Australian bishops’ statement was questionable in its conclusions about Bishop Robinson’s doctrinal stands.

Bishop Robinson is also scheduled to speak in Seattle, San Diego and Boston. It is possible to predict situation where Cardinal Mahony will end up acting with greater integrity than Cardinal O'Malley.

AmP readers have previously criticized my coverage of Cardinal Mahony, saying that I am too harsh and never have anything good to say about him. However, the fact of the matter is that I'm only happy to say good things about him provided I think he has acted for the best interest of the Church - which he is solemnly charged to safeguard. Sadly, most of the stories that cross my desk have not been of this sort. But here is one of those (rare) occasions where I can praise a decision of this Cardinal's.

What could account for this anomaly? It makes me think back to this post I wrote a few weeks ago, commenting upon an editorial that Cardinal Mahony published saying he was a "different disciple" after the pope's visit. Specifically he said that he had gained a realization of his "own mistakes and failures over the years" and that these represented a "weight that I failed to realize was holding me down."

At the time, I expressed my skepticism that such a realization might actually be the case, but I also said at the same time: "I dearly hope that Mahony's change of heart is authentic and bears fruit through internal and external reform." Well, The best sign of an internal change of heart is changed external action, and now we have one.

Time will tell, but let's hope this wonder never ceases.

(A little more backstory is available at CathNews. Photo credit: CNA.)

update: This author thinks Mahony acted more out of annoyance because his authority was being ignored than a true interest in safekeeping doctrinal integrity in his archdiocese. What do you think?

Commentary: Cardinal Mahony says he is a "different disciple" after pope's visit

A changed man?

Cardinal Mahony writing in The Tidings - italics are my own:

For me personally, the two most memorable moments of grace with our Holy Father were ones shrouded in quiet prayer, silence and few public words: his meeting with victims of sexual abuse in Washington, D.C., and his visit to Ground Zero in New York. Both of these events had the dignity of silence, the depth of sadness, and the promise of hope-filled prayer - and both captured deeply the most wounded parts of our Church and of our country.

Yes, the great outdoor Masses were inspiring, the meetings with ecumenical and interfaith leaders were moving, and the gathering with young people and seminarians was memorable. But the power of those times of quiet healing moved me more deeply than all the rest of the Holy Father's many public appearances.

At first, I didn't know why. After all, concelebrating Mass with the Pope and tens of thousands of people was surely uplifting and a source of joy for us all. Slowly the realization became real: those times of quiet healing grace were exactly what I needed at this time in my own journey of faith. My own mistakes and failures over the years had continued to burden me - a weight that I failed to realize was holding me down.

The gentle and quiet manner of Pope Benedict touched me in the most vulnerable depths of my soul. I felt uplifted by our Shepherd and my heavy burdens somehow seemed lighter. How did our Holy Father accomplish this? Through his consistent call to faithful discipleship in Jesus Christ, and his reassurance that we are truly saved by hope in our loving God! His recent Encyclical Letter, Spe Salvi [Saved by Hope], continues to point us forward and upward on our journeys. He does not allow us to remain mired in our sins and faults, but instead, kept repeating the call to "true freedom" in Jesus who has come as "the way, the truth, and the life" for each one of us.

I return to Los Angeles a different disciple of Jesus than when I left a week ago. Thank you, Lord, for sending us not only the Vicar of Christ and the Successor of Peter, but also a brother and friend who knows Jesus personally and gave us six extraordinary days of grace and hope!

I dearly hope that Mahony's change of heart is authentic and bears fruit through internal and external reform.

Mahony, regular readers of this blog know, has a long history of doctrinal selectivism, allows and and promotes liturgical abuse, by many accounts has been deeply involved in abuses related to clergy sexual misconduct (during which he has often thrown the interests of the Church under the treads of civil law to protect himself), and is guilty of such deeply imprudent things as the construction of an ugly, vacant, $200 million cathedral in an archdiocese which could ill-afford such expenditures.

Has Mahony learned that it's never too late to begin acting for the best interest of the Church? Has he internalized the full range of Pope Benedict's teachings and exhortations? I hope so, on both counts.

If not, this letter is an empty lament, and a sounding gong. More than that: it's a crying shame.

Ph/t: Gerald Augustinus.

Video: Religious Education Congress Closing Liturgy 2008

I blogged at-length about this topic here:

The AmP postmortem on "Mahoneyfest '08"

As of today, we have videos of the complete concluding liturgy, in four parts....

Part One (liturgical/ethnic song/dance and mahony's entrance):

Part Two (beginning with gospel reading and incense bowl):

Part Three (beginning with liturgical dance and altar prep):

Part Four (concludes with liturgical dance, communion, etc):

ph/t: reader "Susan".

Post Script: Mahony's Plea for Sympathy

Diogenes looks at the improbabilities surrounding Cdl. Mahony's claim that he was assaulted.

Related:

• Follow-up: LAPD begins investigation of Cdl. Mahony assault claim
• Report: Mahony tells priests he was assaulted near L.A.'s cathedral

Follow-up: LAPD begins investigation of Cdl. Mahony assault claim

Since yesterday's post about Cardinal Mahony's claim that he was violently assaulted this summer is receiving a great deal of traction, I've decided to post an update.

For starters, in today's world you can't simply mention to your priests "Oh, and by the way I was assaulted" and expect it to stay quiet.

Indeed, LAPD detectives began investigating Mahony's report yesterday (the same day the story went public):

LAPD detectives Tuesday began investigating reports that Cardinal Roger Mahony told hundreds of priests he was assaulted by a man angered over the Catholic Church's sexual-abuse scandal, police said.

Police found no reports regarding an assault on Mahony and contacted church officials to ask them about it, said Andrew Smith, assistant commanding officer for the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Bureau.

"If it came to my attention that something happened to Cardinal Mahony, I would have called him and offered my assistance and assured that it was fully investigated ... which is exactly what we're going to do now," Smith said.

... Smith said while Mahony's under no legal obligation to cooperate in an investigation, he hopes that the cardinal does.

"What I'd really like to do is find out who the guy who did it was," Smith said. "Maybe he's going around and assaulting priests all over the diocese. ... Despite whatever your personal feelings are about the Catholic Church or the abuse, you can't walk up to anybody on the street and assault them."

Smith said detectives will do a thorough job and leave no stone unturned as they try to piece together what occurred. - DailyNews

More details on the alleged attack:

“[Mahony] went down there to drop something off at the mailbox when this guy approached him, saying some stuff,” said Father Gutierrez, pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church in Santa Monica. “Then, boom, the guy was on him.”

The attack, according to Father Gutierrez and others, occurred days after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved a $660 million settlement between the archdiocese and more than 500 local victims of abuse by the clergy. The settlement is the largest of its kind in the country. - NewYorkTimes

Associated Press details:

Mahony, 71, told the priests about the attack during a conference in October, said the Rev. Joseph Shea, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Glendale. The cardinal said it occurred in late July or early August as he was dropping off letters at a mailbox near Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, Shea said.

"The comments people made as they kicked him were connected to the sexual abuse lawsuits," he told The Associated Press.

Shea said Mahony was so badly beaten that the cardinal was hospitalized, and that it took him weeks to recover.

... Shea said Mahony did not report the attack to police "because he felt he could offer it up in reparation for the sins of others."

... The Rev. Sal Pilato, principal at Junipero Serra Catholic High School in Gardena, who was also at the conference, told the Daily News that Mahony's account was "shocking because it was an act of violence and it was someone we know and respect."

Another witness account from the LA Times:

The priest said Mahony offered the story almost in passing, as a way of illustrating the personal toll that the sexual abuse scandal had exacted on everyone in the church, but especially its hundreds of victims.

"He said he was walking to the post office or the store and that a man recognized him and started shouting obscenities about the abuse," the priest said. "Then the man came up and punched him and he fell to the ground. We were all shocked. Nobody had heard anything about it."

... Another priest who attended the conference said Mahony was struck in the face during the assault. The priest, along with a third source familiar with the meeting, confirmed the details of Mahony's statements, but both also asked not to be named.

The response from the Archdiocese (besides declining to comment):

The cardinal could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the archdiocese, Carolina Guevara, said, “The annual pastoral meeting with the priests of the archdiocese is a private meeting, and whatever conversation that might have taken place was between the priests and their bishop and was not meant to be public.”

Priests at the meeting reported that Cardinal Mahoney said it had taken him a month to heal from the assault. “The cardinal is fine,” Ms. Guevara said when asked about his condition. - New York Times

Finally, local station CBS 2 has a video report on its website.

That's the pesky thing about mentioning something you decided to keep private: you can't.

More as I hear it.

Report: Mahony tells priests he was assaulted near L.A.'s cathedral

Follow-up: LAPD begins investigation of Cardinal Mahony assault claim.

It happened last July, it took him a month to heal, and he didn't tell his priests until October:

Cardinal Roger Mahony was physically assaulted by a man enraged by the Catholic Church's sexual-abuse scandal within days of a record settlement with hundreds of victims, the Daily News has learned.

Mahony, 71, revealed the attack during an annual conference in October before hundreds of stunned priests, saying a man assaulted him because of the scandal, according to four priests who attended the conference.

News of the assault comes as the bulk of the church's $660million settlement with victims began being paid out Monday, with more than $500million in checks going out in the mail. The settlement with 508 alleged victims was approved by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge July 16.

The attack on Mahony occurred in July near Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, and it took the cardinal about a month to heal, said the Rev. Sal Pilato, principal at Junipero Serra Catholic High School in Gardena. The cardinal was dropping off letters at a mailbox when he was assaulted, priests said.

... Mahony told the priests that after his attacker recognized him, the man began shouting expletives and knocked him to the ground, said another priest who asked not be identified.

Details of Mahony's narration:

Mahony was telling the priests they all had a price to pay for the sexual abuses perpetrated by their brethren when he relayed the story of the assault as an example of the personal toll he's endured, several priests said.

Bruised after the attack, he said it gave him a deeper understanding of the suffering the victims of the sex scandal have endured, the priests said.

"The main message was that his wounds healed within a month, bruises and all, but the victims of child abuse are still suffering after many years, that their wounds are far deeper than what he experienced," Pilato said.

...

Mahony also revealed at the conference that he thought he might be attacked earlier when tensions over the allegations of sexual abuses by priests were at their peak, said the priest who did not want to be identified.

The priest said he thinks Mahony and others mismanaged the scandal by not removing priests who were sexually abusing children sooner and failing to settle cases earlier. That lack of action has damaged the church's reputation and cost it millions of dollars, he said.

Still, the fact that Mahony was attacked over the scandal and chose not to make it public impressed the priest. - Daily News

Reuters follows-up here.

Yes, it is unfortunate that Mahony was attacked. The story prompts a couple questions for me, however: if Mahony indeed wanted this event to remain private, why did he tell his convoked priests about it? He couldn't think that it wouldn't get around. Second, if it took him a month to heal from his injuries, why did no one notice?

update: I should be more specific: I'm not trying to call into question Mahony's claim that he was attacked. I'm just scratching my head about his deciding to keep it private and then, months later, revealing it among his presbyterate. It strikes me as an imprudent move, if for no other reason than it would seem to promote this sort of (criminal) behavior by announcing that he didn't decide to press charges.

update 2: apologies to those who tried to visit this post earlier and couldn't find it. blogger appears to be playing games with it. I'm trying to resolve that issue now.

update 3: follow-up: LAPD begins investigation of Cardinal Mahony assault claim.

CWNews forum: "To restore credibility, Cardinal Mahony should resign"

Phil Lawler of CWNews:

Five years ago Cardinal Roger Mahony was reportedly encouraging Vatican officials to ask for the resignation of Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law. Using the same logical arguments that the American prelate presented in 2002, the Vatican should now ask Cardinal Mahony himself to step down.

The sensational cost of the sex-abuse scandal for the Los Angeles archdiocese far exceeds the devastation in Boston. The $660-million legal settlement announced on July 16 is nearly five times the total of the financial damages in Boston. Combining that settlement with previous agreements, lawyers' fees, and other associated costs, the overall price to be paid by the faithful Catholics of Los Angeles will approach $1 billion.

I think that while this petition will only gain force with time, the iron is already plenty hot now.

Related:

• CNA: Vatican spokesman says sexual abuse not just Catholic problem
• Whispers: LA's Deal: Words from Near and Far - contains translation of the statement.
• (In the Light of the Law from March 23rd, but still topical:) Prof. Bainbridge's call for Cdl. Mahony's resignation

"Mahony ordered to testify in abuse case" - LATimes

LA Times:

A judge Wednesday ordered Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to testify in a lawsuit alleging that he failed to protect parishioners from a pedophile teacher, but then granted the Los Angeles cleric's request for a trial delay.

The lawsuit had been scheduled for trial Monday; Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley Fromholtz agreed to a two-month delay.

...

Mahony submitted to a sworn deposition three years ago in the clergy cases. Previously, he had testified under oath in Stockton in a 1998 trial that ended in a $30-million verdict against the church by the victims of former priest Oliver O'Grady.

Via AMDG.

Sic Transit the Chancery

Diogenes tells the sad tale.

Mahony's statement.

Good thing the Archbishop has been so prudential in his recent architectural investments (I dunno, perhaps they could at least sell it for scrap, minus the cost of disassembly. I'd volunteer).