Cardinal Roger Mahony stepped down Sunday – the day he turned 75.
KPCC reviews the record of the man some observers call the most powerful Catholic prelate in the United States.
Some 26 years ago, Roger Mahony became the first Los Angeles native to head its Catholic archdiocese.
He was born in Hollywood, but he began his priesthood in the Fresno area – a region he chose so he could minister to immigrant farm workers. Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan – who became friends with Mahony in his early days as archbishop - says the Fresno days influenced his mission in LA.
"He had refused to go to a debutante ball because his whole interests were in poor farm workers and immigrants," says Riordan. "I talked him into it - in effect becoming close to the rich in Los Angeles because they’re the ones that can help him solve the problems of the poor."
Riordan says Mahony picked up on that right away but never lost his focus on immigrants and poor people.
When the 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged the St. Vibiana Cathedral, Mahony moved to build what is now the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
He took heat for spending close to $200 million on a building, when critics wanted him to spend that money on services for poor people. Riordan, a Catholic, contributed a million dollars to the construction effort.
He says poor Angelenos congregate at the new cathedral all the time.
"You go there on Sundays and see thousands of people there wandering outside the cathedral and you feel like the Catholic Church has come back as a church that represents the poor," Riordan says.
"You go there on Sundays and see thousands of people there wandering outside the cathedral and you feel like the Catholic Church has come back as a church that represents the poor," Riordan says.
"Cardinal Roger Mahony is not just a great person, a great servant, a great man of faith, he’s one of our heroes," says activist Juan Jose Gutierrez.
Gutierrez demonstrated few weeks ago at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The director of Vamos Unidos credits Mahony with making comprehensive immigration reform a top priority in the US Catholic Church.
Gutierrez demonstrated few weeks ago at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The director of Vamos Unidos credits Mahony with making comprehensive immigration reform a top priority in the US Catholic Church.
"Before him, maybe somewhere in the background, leaders in the Catholic Church in the United States would talk about that as an issue that needed to be thought about, but not as something that was really a 'burning issue,'" Gutierrez says.
Mahony has never shied away from criticizing federal immigration policy. In May 2009, in a speech at Fuller Theological seminary in Pasadena, he says that immigrants labor with dignity on jobs that are menial but important.
Mahony has never shied away from criticizing federal immigration policy. In May 2009, in a speech at Fuller Theological seminary in Pasadena, he says that immigrants labor with dignity on jobs that are menial but important.
"As a result, the United States receives the benefits of their toil and taxes without having to worry about protecting their rights, either in the courtroom or in the workplace," Mahony says.
But if some observers emphasize Mahony’s immigrants’ rights activism, others maintain that history will hold him responsible for mishandling the sexual abuse cases that came to light on his watch.
Joelle Casteix of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests was a victim of sexual abuse by a lay person when she studied at Mater Dei High School in Orange County. That’s outside the LA Archdiocese, but she says Mahony’s reputation on the issue crosses such boundaries.
"His number one legacy will be the children who were sexually abused at the hands of priests that he knew about, that he covered up for and that he enabled to continue to molest kids over and over again," she says.
In 2007, the Los Angeles Archdiocese reached a $660-million settlement with more than 500 victims.
In 2007, the Los Angeles Archdiocese reached a $660-million settlement with more than 500 victims.
Raymond Boucher was the victims’ main attorney. He says Cardinal Mahony did the right thing in reaching the settlement - but he adds that the archbishop still won’t release important documents connected with the case.
"You know there’s so many things he’s done that he dserves credit for. And it’s a part of his personality," Boucher says. "The work with farmworkers, immigrants. The work he did to reach the settlements. On the other hand, he’s a powerful man who made some mistakes and continues to make some mistakes. So in that respect, he’s an enigma."
"You know there’s so many things he’s done that he dserves credit for. And it’s a part of his personality," Boucher says. "The work with farmworkers, immigrants. The work he did to reach the settlements. On the other hand, he’s a powerful man who made some mistakes and continues to make some mistakes. So in that respect, he’s an enigma."
Mahony’s supporters say he did his best with a difficult situation and can hand over the leadership of the LA archdiocese with his head held high.
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