A US cardinal accused of mismanaging clerical sexual abuse has been listed as playing an official role in the ceremonies to close Pope Francis’ coffin and for his burial.
Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, is among a group of nine cardinals and a small number of priests and bishops set to take part in the rites which will include the pope’s burial at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Mahony, 89, retired as archbishop in 2011. He was relieved of all his official duties in the archdiocese in 2013 – although these duties were not specified.
However, the American cardinal is listed as participating in the forthcoming ceremonies as a “cardinal priest,” a position within the College of Cardinals. The college includes “cardinal deacons,” “cardinal priests” and “cardinal bishops.”
Mahony holds a senior position among the cardinal priests as he is one of the longest-serving — those who have served longer than him are in their nineties. Other cardinals taking part in the ceremonies include Giovanni Battista Re, who is the dean of the College of Cardinals; Pietro Parolin, who is the most senior cardinal bishop under the age of 80 and is the Holy See Secretary of State; and Dominique Mamberti, the “protodeacon” who will tell the world when a new pope has been chosen.
A spokesman for the Holy See said Mahony was involved because he was the most senior cardinal priest available to take part in the ceremonies, with others unable to participate.
This is not the first time Mahony’s involvement at a time of papal transition has caused controversy. In the run up to the 2013 conclave which elected Francis, a petition in Los Angeles was signed urging him not to take part. This time, due to his age, the cardinal does not have the right to vote – only those under the age of 80 are eligible to do so.
Mahony, who led the Los Angeles archdiocese from 1985 to 2011, has repeatedly apologized for his handling of clerical sexual abuse. In 2013 internal church records revealed that in the 1980s, he and his vicar for clergy failed to remove priests accused of abuse and cooperate with law enforcement.
The cardinal’s successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez, said in 2013 that Mahony “will no longer have any administrative or public duties” in Los Angeles although the archdiocese later clarified that he remained a “priest in good standing.”
Mahony hit back at Gomez’s ban saying to him that “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.” He said he had repeatedly acknowledged that he made “mistakes, especially in the mid-1980s” over abuse but that he had handed over an Archdiocese that was “second to none in protecting children and youth.”
The clerical sexual abuse scandal has led to historically high payouts by the Los Angeles archdiocese. In 2007, it paid $660 million in a financial settlement to 508 victims and last year a further $880 million to 1,353 survivors in cases going back decades. Mahony was also accused of mishandling the case of an abuser priest when he was Bishop of Stockton.
For many years, Mahony was a prominent figure in the US church hierarchy and considered a strong voice for immigrants, workers’ rights and the importance of Hispanic Catholics for the US church.
During his pontificate, Francis ordered a number of important reforms to deal with the scourge of clerical sexual abuse, but experts say it will be up to his successor to implement them.
“Cardinal Mahony is our Archbishop Emeritus. He retired in 2011 as Archbishop of Angeles and has continued his ministry in our Archdiocese as a retired archbishop,” the archdiocese said. “He has always been in good standing.”
It continued, “We are blessed to have Cardinal Mahony represent our Archdiocese in Rome for the funeral of our Holy Father and the election of our new Pope.”