The following February 11 posting appeared on the LA Times blogs.
Cardinal Roger Mahony praised outgoing Pope Benedict XVI for his legacy of spreading Catholicism throughout the world and said he looks forward to traveling to Rome to help elect a successor.
In a statement issued Monday morning, Mahony said it was his privilege to participate in the April 2005 conclave to elect Benedict.
“I recall so clearly his words when he told the cardinals that he was choosing the name of Benedict because of his fondness for the prayerfulness and the Rule of St. Benedict, and also because Pope Benedict XV [1914—1920] served during a time of turmoil and wars across the world,” Mahony said.
“His homilies and addresses were so amazing because he was not speaking about Jesus Christ as a topic, but he was speaking about Jesus from a deep and intimate knowledge of Jesus himself,” according to Mahony’s statement. “Surely one of his great legacies will be a continuing emphasis on the need for all Catholics to exercise their role as evangelizers in the world. His focus upon the new evangelization will continue to enliven all disciples of Jesus.”
Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. They are sequestered in Vatican City and take an oath of secrecy.
Last month, after the release of thousands of pages of records about sexual abuse by priests, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced that he had relieved Mahony of all public duties. The move, spurred by what Gomez said was Mahony’s mishandling of the abuse cases, is unprecedented in the American Catholic Church.
Despite the public censure, Mahony is still allowed to help select a new Pope.
“I look forward to traveling to Rome soon to help thank Pope Benedict XVI for his gifted service to the Church, and to participate in the conclave to elect his successor.
To read entire posting, click here.
This is a mystery. Why does our Lord honor His institution of the Episcopacy, why can’t a Cardinal be unmade except by death? Who understands the mystery of our Lord’s parable of the wheat and the tares?
Before you FLAME Cardinal Mahoney in these pages, you might consider the preferability of complaining about it first to the only One Who can do something about it, our Lord. You might regard St. John Vianney’s advice to take it before the Tabernacle rather than the newspapers.
Rod, Cardinals and Bishops can be removed under Code of Canon Law.
It’s called “LOSS of ECCLESIASTICAL OFFICE”.
The Code explains there are 4 ways – Resignation, Transfer, Removal, and Privation.
For more info on Removal or Privation, go to the Vatican web site and search Code of Canon Law.
He’s has no office.
No I guess he has some at the Vatican.
Cdl Mahony will be deposed in a civil suit prior to traveling to Rome. Will he return to the USA? Cdl Bernard Law never returned, likely for fear of arrest on criminal charges.
Paul, I just started a novena to St. Paul, asking his intercession to get rid of the heresy in the Church. I am not saying Cardinal Mahony is a heretic, but many people who come on this website are just plain teaching heresy, especially on the moral issues, and most should know better. St. Paul, whom Christ himself made an Apostle to the Gentiles as you probably know, told his flock, “A heretic after the first or second admonition avoid.” Perhaps it is time for a good shunning of people who teach heresy, whether some bishops or people approve it or not. St. Paul also said to kick out the immoral from among us. Neither he nor the Lord told us to sit and debate with reprobates continually until we were exhausted.
My Biblical reference was to Titus 3:10, but I recommend the whole chapter so the verse is in context.
Anne T. –
You won’t say it, but I will……from the rooftops!
May God love and bless you forever!
Thank you, Baron, and may God love and bless you too, and keep you in His grace and give you final perseverance.
Gosh, RMK, like nobody ever thought of prayer before! Cdl. Mahony flames himself. You also seem to presume that God is not orchestrating the “flaming” of Cdl. Mahony.
Sorry sport…he took it to the newspapers himself, when he concealed crimes from the authorities, and allowed his pederast buddies to sexually assault children…and he “flamed” himself by his seemingly ignominious acts as a “prince” of the Church. Your admiration for this shameful man is touching…I hope the same level of concern and support you show the good cardinal also extends to the victims of his gross negligence…and believe me, I’m being charitable
Oh, if only I could admire him. Then I could become the more acutely aware how much worse I am than him.
“The man who is at perfect ease is never suspicious, but the disturbed and discontented spirit is upset by many a suspicion. He neither rests himself nor permits others to do so. He often says what ought not to be said and leaves undone what ought to be done. He is concerned with the duties of others but neglects his own.
“Direct your zeal, therefore, first upon yourself; then you may with justice exercise it upon those about you. You are well versed in coloring your own actions with excuses which you will not accept from others, though it would be more just to accuse yourself and excuse your brother. If you wish men to bear with you, you must bear with them. Behold, how far you are from true charity and humility which does not know how to be angry with anyone, or to be indignant save only against self!
“It is no great thing to associate with the good and gentle, for such association is naturally pleasing. Everyone enjoys a peaceful life and prefers persons of congenial habits. But to be able to live at peace with harsh and perverse men, or with the undisciplined and those who irritate us, is a great grace, a praiseworthy and manly thing.”
– Imitation of Christ, Book II, The Interior Life, 3. Goodness and Peace in Man
By their fruits you will recognize them…Matthew Chapter 7: 15-20
Rod McKuen, you have a lot of understanding of the Lord and the Church.
He needs to be arrested and prosecuted.
Who does he think he is kidding — saying he prays for the protesters and the folks who are causing him such agina these days.
Look in the mirror Roger — you know full well the party is almost over.
What a shame that Cardinal Mahony will travel to Rome and be part of the conclave to elect the new Pope. After what he did he should enter the Sistine Chapel with a paper bag on his head. He should have been reprimanded by Rome also, not only Archbishop Gomez.
He is a disgrace for our Catholic Church. Because of him people hold hands for the “Our Father” and do not kneel after communion. Incredible!
Please don’t trivialize the negative impact of Mahony by mentioning holding hands and not kneeling after communion. Neither is a big deal.
What they’re getting at, Rodda, is a big big deal. The holding hands and not kneeling are simply little moves purposed to nudge the faithful away from the true shepherds. Study up on how shepherds protect and maneuver their sheep and their sheepdogs. You ever seen sheep dogs in action? Flocks will sometimes have several different breeds of sheep dogs, each one specializing in a particular job with the sheep. I ran into a flock almost a mile away one time, as I worked my little gundogs training. Suddently these two massive dogs galloped like ponies towards us, and I barely loaded my crew into the safety of the vehicle as these creatures pulled up to a stop to observe us from forty yards. They looked like yellow labs on mega steroids, and even wagged and displayed “smiles”. I researched them and discovered that this breed is originally from Turkey and is called Akbaz. The put the pups into the sheepfold and never socialize them with the people. These dogs then become weaned as sheep with big fangs, and no nonsense business demeanors. There are other sheepdogs that are even more menacing to predators. The Church does indeed have sheepdogs, to wit, the swords that Jesus told St Peter and others to retain. Why, because sometimes the Church is called on by God to exercise its martial function.
No.
Continual whining about things like hand-holding and not making it mandatory to kneel after communion (it’s purely up to the communicant per the Church) does nothing but produce noise.
Produce enough of this noise and your voice gets tuned-out altogether. I suspect a fair number here have been tuned-out in their local parishes and (arch)dioceses for that very reason.
I really am beginning to wonder if the Holy See realizes the damage that is being done to the Archdiocese of LA and the Church itself by not taking action? This is definitely not one of those times where it’s better to “let things play out.” The Church should have quietly made it known to him that he is persona not grata on the grounds of the Vatican City. No explanation, no nothing. That would have been enough to end this.
Actually, a Judge should declare Cardinal Mahony a Flight from Justice danger and ban him from the airplane!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Cardinal Mahony should not have the honor of going to Rome to help elect the next pope. He shuffled pedophile priests around from parish to parish and even to other dioceses to protect them from prosecution. When the molestations were going on, he didn’t care what happened to the victims. Then, when the the scandals became public, he withheld records from the police and prosecutors, only releasing them when forced to by the court. This man has no shame. He should go someplace else and do penance. They always need help at Mother Teresa’s hospital, in Calcutta.
Please your Holiness, de-cardinalize that viper before he can do more damage. If anyone should go from Los Angeles, let it be Archbishop Gomez. Give him the red hat and bid him come.
absolutely…Archbishop Gomez is a wise and holy cleric
It may have taken a great great deal of faith resources to make that decision that Abp Gomez made. Sometimes the gunners run out of shells … This may be the case when looking at further sanctions.
… which is why I keep advocating for there to be an ardent federal and state investigation into what could be called the Mahony regime … pedophilia cover up … interstate, international: FBI and Interpol have jurisdiction at this level. This needs to be whooped up. A few years ago a local public school teacher was caught in an Interpol sting for boy porn … the cops busted him along with other pervs in other nations including Russia. This dude was a petty perv perp compared to the likes of Mahony, a mere fly on a dunghill compared to the dunghill itself.
Amen, Skai. Unleashing known child molesters on innocent Catholic children and protecting the mentally disordered, criminal priests is still shocking to me, even though I’ve known of this for a long time. It cannot be tolerated, and is hurting our entire Church, not just the poor victims and their families. It is what they used to call a crying shame, a shameful thing that brings tears to your eyes even to think about. Now people think we are all nuts to remain Catholic and keep supporting our church, even though most priests are gifts to us all. The good news doesn’t get anywhere near the same attention as the bad news, sorry to say. We need the world to know we are unwilling to tolerate this in our . . . I can hardly say it . . . our . . . cardinals. It’s unbelievable, even though we know it’s true.
“After the release of thousands of pages of records about sexual abuse by priests, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced that he had relieved Mahony of all public duties.”
Bravo, Abp. Gomez. Cardinal Roger will attend the Conclave in disgrace. Los Angeles Catholics should support Archbishop Gomez. Otherwise a puffed-up Roger Cardinal Mahony will destroy him.
Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible
Luke 6: [45] A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
[46] And why call you me, Lord, Lord; and do not the things which I say? [47] Every one that cometh to me, and heareth my words, and doth them, I will shew you to whom he is like. [48] He is like to a man building a house, who digged deep, and laid the foundation upon a rock. And when a flood came, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and it could not shake it; for it was founded on a rock. [49] But he that heareth, and doth not, is like to a man building his house upon the earth without a foundation: against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.
Hasn’t this man done enough damage to the Church? Now he gets to vote for the next Pope? With his immense ego, he would probably vote for himself. Hopefully the Holy Ghost will toss his vote out the window.
Yeah, he couldn’t wait to get on his “personal” website and “in-your-face” all the people that have expressed serious displeasure at his moral failings, by proclaiming how excited he was to travel to Rome and vote for the new Pontiff…. he even attempted to throw Archbishop Gomez under the bus, by insinuating that “he” was just as cognizant as the good “cardinal” concerning the procedural steps he had taken on how best to address the molestation issue in the Archdiocese… the man is consumed by guile.
I don’t think this man has any shame, any remorse. It seems to be back to business as usual. You would think the cardinal would be laying low for a while, but nope that’s not the case. You know what his action says to me? It says he has a lot of supportive friends, lay and religious, who are treating him as if he did nothing wrong. I would imagine he just wants to move forward and he’s probably hoping if he just keeps going about his normal routine people will forget about this nasty business he was involved in.
This man makes my stomach turn.
How many souls has he driven away from the faith based on his involvement with the child molestation scandal, his liturgical shenanigans and his abject failure to be a strong shepherd?
All driven by his ego, by his arrogance and by his incompetence.
I am deeply angered and ashamed that the Catholic Church cannot quietly preclude him from the conclave. If Cdl. Mahony does not have the grace to stay away on his own, the Church should step-up and tell him to stay away.
Not doing so hurts the Church. It’s come to the point where I am truly wondering why God allows His Church to be so apathetic on this matter?
I’m tired of it all — particularly the excuses.
He may have “participated” in the conclave that elected Joseph Ratzinger; I doubt he voted for him.
Unlike many American Bishops, hopefully, the Cardinals will elect a Pope who will concentrate on:
1) Saving Souls;
2) Actively support the public excommunication in each Diocese of those who obstinately cause grave SCANDAL by their public support of the non-negitables of abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and human cloning;
3) Continue to push disobedient Cardinals, Bishops and Priests to publically and actively promote reading and study of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition” by all the literate in each Diocese.
Cardinal Mahony was disobedient. He did NONE of the 3 above. He concentrated his life’s work on his own earthly politics rather than on eternity. He wasted a great opportunity to have an educated, Holy Diocese of Catholics.
I think it would be best if he took a Carnival Cruise to Rome instead!
How very cordial of Mahony to be pleased to travel to Rome to congratulate outgoing Pope Benedict on his very fine supervision of the church which he, Cardinal Roger Mahony, helped him attain by casting a ballot for him. Isn’t that just sweet?
Cardinal Mahony should be going to Rome to hand deliver his baptismal certificate back to the Church.
ROTFLOL!
Fr. Groeschel tells a story: A high Cardinal visited his home town in Ireland. They trotted out his nursemaid who baptized him: “Oh, sure and begone, I baptized him ‘In the name of Jesus, Mary and Joseph’.”
They had to re-baptize the Cardinal, give him First Holy Communion, Confirm, Ordinate, make him a Bishop and a Cardinal.
“Clever as the serpent, yet peaceful as the dove”: insightful story by Fr. Groeschel. He is publicizing the idea and probability that some bishops are not true bishops, due to some faulty element in their religious history.
Pope Benedict could defrock Mahony before the vote.
Now that would be a wonderful final act for Pope Benedict!!!!!!
That won’t happen either. It’s a haggling session. If the Pope defrocked a cardinal, then there would be a stronger backlash. These popes barely have anyone to defend them against the evil weeds that rage among the faithful among the clergy. These evil ones have no morals and will do what it takes to misdirect the Church. The Church is guaranteed against this, but it takes men who believe it and who will act on faith instead of by intimidation.
Yes R.B. Rodda, it is going to be hard trying throughout this Lenten time to ignore the media who can’t help constantly getting every word wrong about the Church and repeating the Church’s own description of the ilk of the Cardinal Mahonys and Cardinal Laws as being in “good standing” as the conclave to elect a new pope in such a critical time approaches. My stomach flops each time as well. I guess when we look around we know why we are inflicted with these disasters of “Princes” of the Church. It isn’t as though we haven’t been warned by Our Lady at La Salette, at Fatima and at Garabandal, is it? And now yet another Pope will have come and gone without obeying in 1960 her clear wishes at Fatima, yet each always extolling the honor and devotion due her.
It is horribly wrong for the Church not to take action. The very best action would be quiet action.
All it would take is a phone call from the right person to Mahony informing him that he will not be admitted to the Vatican grounds. Do it via telephone lest Mahony place the correspondence his blog!
That would be it.
Doesn’t work like that, Rodda. The Vatican is fouled up with the “filth” that the Pope mentioned. One can even wonder if he quit to get away from the stench. Don’t you realize yet how grave the situation is in the Vatican in light of his own personal servant stealing secret financial documents? This Pope does not have a strong circle of allies or friends to defend him against the “filth”, the “smoke of Satan”. We’ve now had a philosopher and a theologian of excellent academic credentials … St Peter on the other hand was a fisherman. What did he do? He managed the Church, and did it well. St Paul did not manage the Church but taught the Church as God directed him to do. The successors of the Apostles need to be apostles moreso than prophets and teachers.
Naw.
I realize that the Vatican City is not a military installation but if the outgoing Pope did not want him (or anyone else) admitted to the grounds, they wouldn’t be admitted to the grounds, period. I am positive there are already people who are not allowed into the Holy See and if they tried, they would be arrested.
It’s a sovereign country after all.
I don’t know if Cardinal Mahony would try to barge his way in regardless or if he would try to manipulate the press but so what?
They are negotiating with the Italian govt to honor the treaty agreements. So, why go to the trouble if there were not some point to it?
Phillipe: Pope John Paul II did just what Our Blessed Mother told him to do at Fatima, despite what that censored priest, Fr. Grunner says. You need to get the real truth and to keep away from those wolves that are using Fatima for their own monetary gain. I thank God for Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict, both very holy men that are obedient to God and His Church. It is so sad, that out of all the “baptized catholics”, so few are in the Will of God as these posts are showing us. +JMJ+
JMJ, Catholics are commanded by God not to worship popes.
What can the conclave be thinking? How on earth can they pretend that this scoundrel should be there? Might as well have Lucifer, himself, there. Sure hope the Church decides to stay Catholic.
Good question. I honestly wonder if the Church knows the damage it is doing to itself in today’s media market by not quietly telling Mahony to stay away?
We can only pray that some other renegade Cardinal like himself will have a conversion and cancel out Mahony’s vote — after all the double talk and heartbreak that his like have foisted on Our Holy Father.
That’s all good stuff Rod about getting
“…the beam out of one’s own eye first ” but
” He who rebukes a man receives more thanks in the end than one with a flattering tongue.” (Sirach, I believe.)
The two approaches go together; you can’t have one without the other.
Cardinal Mahony is a true believing liberal, like many in the Church today — so I am amazed at all the comments. Example, Obama was elected and re-elected by a majority of people who claim to be Catholic.
This is what you get when the Church modernizes and tosses out years of tradition. No surprises here.
Anita, it is interesting but the liberals are just as critical of Cardinal Mahoney. Most Catholics are horrified by what he covered up.
Notice how most of the liberal press is looking the other way, would not happen is he was a conservative.
I always thought criminals tended to go into hiding. Obviously some few criminals go to Rome and vote for the next Roman Catholic Pope. You would think Hollywood would have prepared us for what criminals really do. If you can’t trust Hollywood or Roman Catholic cardinals to tell you the truth, whom can you trust? I long ago realized Hollywood was full of twisted deceptions and self-serving untruths, but only in recent years have I learned it is unwise to believe in a Roman Catholic cardinal as well. He can lie, obfuscate, hide criminals, and expose children to sexual abuse — by priests! — and nothing much happens to him. I wish you’d heard the 20-minute diatribe I suffered through at a Protestant church this morning from a lifelong Roman Catholic, educated in Catholic schools, whose decision to become a Catholic-disdaining Protestant was largely based on the priest abuse scandal. She hates Cardinal Mahony and notes that for years little has been done to arrest his criminal activity and is astounded there is a single thinking Catholic left in our church. She knows a lot of people in her church who have left Catholicism due to disgust, disdain, disappointment and outrage at how our funds are spent, how our children are abused, and how brainwashed they think anyone who stays in such a church must be. They feel free at this church to say we are not Christian, the Church is not holy, it is contaminated with priest criminals and criminals in the hierarchy. I was astonished at the vocalism and outrage and sorry to see they had not stayed to demand that the Church be cleansed of such evil. After 20 minutes of such torment, I felt as if I was countenancing sin by remaining Catholic. We just cannot tolerate this level of sin and criminality to go unpunished and allow this level of outrage to cast aspersions on us, especially hard to take from people who once loved the Church so profoundly. They say they would prefer to be Catholic but cannot support such behavior in those we are led by. I had not realized how strongly some people feel, and it is sorrowful to see such good people so enraged with our priests and cardinals. Our great faith has been suffering for too long from within and without by this horrible cancer, and too many former Catholics are furious with us all for allowing this to go unpunished. Message heard…
Everyone except the hierarchy sees that this is a big, evil mess. The true tragedy though is that the “faithful” just sit on their hands watching Rome burn. We are all complicit (probably mortally so) because we haven’t done anything at all about it.
And you propose that as individual members of the laity we do what exactly, may I ask?
We are not Catholic for any of the reasons you or your former Catholic friend have lamented. We are Catholic because of the Real Presence. End of story.
One is Catholic by assenting to the Real Presense; otherwise everyone would be Catholic.
Skai, this is one of those posts where I scratch my head. Did you go through an RCIA or instruction with a priest? I sometimes wonder whether you just kind of started being Catholic on your own, like just started going to Church and going to Communion? This is an honest question.
There is a group of Catholics protesting Cardinal Mahony participating in choosing the next Pope. I wish I could join, but haven’t found the details of where and how.
My great worry is that Cardinal Mahony supported and helped promote two homosexual bishops. When one of those bishops died, he had
the National Gay choir sing at his funeral as one of his last wishes,
and it was allowed!
Cardinal Mahony has embarrased us, driven souls away, ruined the Church’s reputation FOR YEARS, and allowed the victimization of innocent children!
He should not have a vote for the next Pope.
He should be excommunicated from the Catholic Church for all the great harm and destruction he has allowed and even caused, and he should be prosecuted by the criminal justice system and I say jailed! He should not be flying at our expense to Rome to vote for our next pope! This is just impossible to believe. I should have thought that the present pope or someone in the Vatican would have asked him to please stop harming our great Church by appearing publicly and causing worldwide scandal and shame. God is watching us, and so is the world.
I don’t know how to denounce our Church’s inaction sufficiently. To allow a disgraced criminal cardinal even to remain a cardinal, let alone vote for the next pope … how is this even possible? It sounds like another anti-Catholic Dan Brown novel, absolutely unbelievable trash designed to destroy us in every imaginable way by inventing lies … but it is in fact the nightmare we are living through due to the inaction of the hierarchy.
Let us pray for a great housecleaning.
The Pope has already denounced the Church’s “inaction”, by publically slapping down the bishops … by telling them to “become holy”. Only a bishop who is unholy needs to be told to become holy. A bishop who is non holy does not exist: these men are either holy or unholy, not not holy. You cannot be not holy if you are a bishop. You are either with Christ or with the devil if you are episcopal.
I wish we could find more info on that protest. I would go.
Candace,
You have it reversed, it was probably Cardinal Bernadine, the one who had the Chicago Gay Men’s Choir sing at his Funeral that Cardinal Mahony presided over, Cardinal Bernadine probably was instrumental in Cardinal Mahony getting the Red Hat!
God Bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Pope Benedict the XVI placed a number of Archbishops into the College of Cardinals during his pontificate who are much more traditional than Cardinal Mahony and his ilk! This is a comfort. My spiritual director and I were having lunch this afternoon, and he reminded me of this… gives me some comfort…
Won’t have much soon effect on the practice of sending faithful bishops to posts in remote and politically and episcopally irrelevant territories. One of these could be San Francisco where the bishop’s vulnerability to the sodomites will be irremediable. It is perhaps a kind of isolation of Abp Cordileone, where no matter what he does, as in the probable case with the retiring Pope, nothing will come of it. The wolf packs will continue to feast.
Skai, I wish I didn’t agree with you, but I do. Nevertheless, Archbishop Cordileone should keep trying, and it is my sense that he will. However, even our archbishops are only people, and I’m sure he would benefit from encouragement in doing all he can to help make San Francisco worthy of the beloved saint after whom it is named. Still, there are many faithful Catholics within the archdiocese who will be grateful for the work the archbishop is already investing. It might be easier to clean up New Orleans after Katrina than to clean house in San Francisco.
Travesty, thy name is Mahony.
S Phoenix, which ashes are you rising from?
All that would need to happen is for the Holy See to informally inform Cardinal Mahony that he is not to set foot in the Vatican City/State.
If he tries anyway, refuse him admission and keep a watchful eye on him when he is in the vicinity so that he does not try again.
30 minutes ago a friend told me to check Cardinal Mahony’s blog, as she could not believe her eyes.
He talks about people being mad at him for what he did, and telling him to his face how angry they are, and then he writes this:
“Thanks to God’s special grace, I simply stood there, asking God to bless and forgive them.”
FORGIVE THEM??? UNBELIEVEABLE!!! :-(
I had to agree, Mackz. What arrogance! He has cooperated in the ruining of the emotional lives of hundreds of our children!! How can he forgive us for being upset at A) what he did B) what he failed to do, and C) what he is getting away with … so far, anyway. I have a feeling there is more coming from our criminal justice system, even if not from the Vatican. So far their failure to take definitive action has shaken many of us at even deeper levels than the misdeeds of Cardinal Mahony and all the wicked priests and bishops under him. The icing on the cake is this ridiculous statement by the archbishop seeking forgiveness from God for US!!
Priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes should earn our respect. Never should they demand it. Only God can demand our respect, but clergy have to demonstrate that they are indeed one with God; God demands our respect through that oneness. Priests are authorized to forgive sins, but there is a point where any given priest would lose that authority due to his hardness of heart … Again, I observe that no one has yet blogged a reply to this challenge … At what level of depravity does a priest lose his authority to forgive sin? Bishops can work a handle on the laity by two means, one of which is forgiveness of sins and the other is money. But if a soul desires forgiveness of sins and there is no clergy in the region who can do that, then doesn’t the Church teach that God will then forgive his sins? So, if this is the case, then why do we have so many bishops? The only other thing that they do is money. And without a bishop, there will not be any money. That seems to be the answer to the question why modern clergy go around with attache’ cases looking like business managers and executives. I wonder if this is why the Pope quit … just throwing up his hands. Or perhaps the Lord is showing mercy on a good servant and took him out of the corruption, perhaps as a reward so he can mend his soul in his remaining days.
MaryAnne Leonard,
It is doubtful that your friends who have left really examined what they were doing, they were jumping from the frying pan into the fire!
The Hierarchy are a part of the Church, not the Church. To survive in these times, Our Lady said I believe at Akita, we must hang on to Tradition.
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
A Polish priest has published an important article “With the Pope against Homoheresy” in Rorate Caeli. It documents in detail how deeply the homosexual mafia has corrupted the Church and how Benedict XVI had to fight them. Roger Cardinal Mahony and Bishop Thomas Curry helped the homomafia be successful in California.
@Rod: oh how your words sting, brother! I felt the need to reprint them here. God be with you…..
Rod McKuen says:
February 15, 2013 at 8:59 am
Oh, if only I could admire him. Then I could become the more acutely aware how much worse I am than him.
“The man who is at perfect ease is never suspicious, but the disturbed and discontented spirit is upset by many a suspicion. He neither rests himself nor permits others to do so. He often says what ought not to be said and leaves undone what ought to be done. He is concerned with the duties of others but neglects his own.
“Direct your zeal, therefore, first upon yourself; then you may with justice exercise it upon those about you. You are well versed in coloring your own actions with excuses which you will not accept from others, though it would be more just to accuse yourself and excuse your brother. If you wish men to bear with you, you must bear with them. Behold, how far you are from true charity and humility which does not know how to be angry with anyone, or to be indignant save only against self!
“It is no great thing to associate with the good and gentle, for such association is naturally pleasing. Everyone enjoys a peaceful life and prefers persons of congenial habits. But to be able to live at peace with harsh and perverse men, or with the undisciplined and those who irritate us, is a great grace, a praiseworthy and manly thing.”
– Imitation of Christ, Book II, The Interior Life, 3. Goodness and Peace in Man
This story has suddenly been dwarfed: The Pope is now negotiating with the Italian president to not send police into the Vatican to dig out pedophiles.
My goodness, if the Vatican won’t do it, why should not the Italian police try to capture pedophiles? Even if they are ordained. The United States flies troops into places like Pakistan that are unable to protect innocent people from murdering terrorists like Osama bin Laden. What is good for the goose ought to be good for the gander. I hate the concept of the Vatican being “invaded” again by the Italian government, but sometimes one can understand there is a need to protect our children and somebody has to do the dirty work. This is Pope Benedict’s first move with which I must respectfully disagree. Protecting criminals should not be what the Vatican is about. The Vatican’s failure to act against the reprehensible invites external authorities to take action and shames us before the world. Pope Benedict is a wonderful and holy man, but this is the response of the Italian government to the fact that the Vatican has failed to take discernable action to cleanse the House of the Lord in the timeframe that is customary in modern times. Taking decades or centuries to declare people saints is one thing; taking decades or longer to protect our children from criminals and sinners is quite another.
They buried pedofiles in the Vatican?
“Hid”, Mackz, is one meaning of the word, “buried”.
Just read the cardinal’s most recent post on his personal website. It made me feel sorrowful for his plight… sure I have expressed outrage at his past shocking behavior, which seems incomprehensible… still, he is our former Archbishop… and venting my spleen was cathartic… but I know I must forgive also, in order to receive forgiveness from my Heavenly Father… this is what this tragedy and scandal has wrought, it has stirred feelings within Catholics the likes of which they never would have experienced, save for this tragedy… feelings of ambivalence I will continue to wrestle with this Lenten season… I must pray and focus on my own need for redemption… the Cardinal sounds as if he is now going through the “wilderness”… the “dark night of the soul”… I personally feel he should not get to vote for the next Pontiff in Rome…
I think there is a difference between forgiveness and allowing someone to continue to run amok. For example, someone could be forgiven at a personal level for stealing from his employer. But that doesn’t mean he is entitled to keep his job as if nothing ever happened. Actions have consequences — otherwise there is no justice.
Barramundi, thank you for your thoughtful post. I am learning a lot by reading these comments here but this is so tragic. Our Church needs our prayers.
Barramundi, God bless you. Psalm 19B
From Cardinal Mahony’s blog:
“To be honest with you, I have not reached the point where I can actually pray for more humiliation. I’m only at the stage of asking for the grace to endure the level of humiliation at the moment.
“In the past several days, I have experienced many examples of being humiliated. In recent days, I have been confronted in various places by very unhappy people. I could understand the depth of their anger and outrage — at me, at the Church, at about injustices that swirl around us.
“Thanks to God’s special grace, I simply stood there, asking God to bless and forgive them.”
It is me, me, I.
Looks like the Cardinal is being deposed before he flies to Roma. Another molestation case is rearing its head….
He may wind up answering for the cemetery fund fiasco, which is now gaining some momentum… if it becomes too odoriferous, the D.A.’s olfactory may pick up the scent of some misconduct here… and maybe worse…
Yes… in my prayers Cardinal Mahony is also included… in typing these words and reflecting on all of this tragedy, I am experiencing doubt and pain… tears too… pray that God will make this horror somehow transform into goodness… I will ask the Blessed Mother to cloak me in the safety of Her Tilma, and consecrate me in the virtues of charity and humility….. Her tear drops are like diamonds… sparkling, her smile melts all feelings of bitterness, her downcast eyes are symbols of humility and modesty …praised be Jesus Christ forever…
See Feb. 5 LA Times “Vatican Impeded Mahonys’ Attempts to Remove Priests”
If that is the case, as Anon. says the LA Times says, then explain why Abp Gomez said Cdl Mahony has no excuse for protecting pedophiles.
Read the article. There are thousands of pages of documents that have been released. There are various responses that were made depending on when it happened. This is a case that was appealed to the Vatican in 1993. There are some other cases and a general assessment of Vatican response in the article as well.
The priests who have indulged in these abominable crimes are pederasts… pure and simple. They are perverts who are committing mortal sin by breaking their vows of chastity and violating the 6th commandment. This sin cries to heaven for vengeance, it is a gravely disordered act. Homosexuality is a variety of sexual paraphilia, right up their with zoophilia and coprophilia and voyeurism and pygmalianism and frotteurism and exhibitionism. It is not only a spiritual crime, but a sexual disorder. Indulging in this perversion is truly a depraved act.
Gator-
No one could define that moral and behavioral disorder more accurately!
MGBY.
We need the facts, of course, and need to inform ourselves of that which the new media are posting about this never-ending horror. We need also to bear in mind that the news reports will not have a tone of respect for Catholic values and sensibilities, and that many anti-Catholic forces exist throughout the media, unfortunately. Also unfortunately, the staggering stories of abuse by ordained men of our children, followed by staggering stories of cover-ups, lies, deceptions and obfuscations at the level of protecting criminals by our archbishop and Bishop Curry, simply offer those who hate us sufficient fuel to burn us terribly. Read the media reports with one eye open to these facts, and the other eye open to discover the shocking facts of what members of the hierarchy of the Holy Roman Catholic Church have done to us, with no discernable punishment from the Vatican. No wonder our heads are twisting in the wind with every new day’s revelations. I see no reason for us to abandon our anger until justice is served. Jesus Christ was angered by the moneychangers outside of the temple; imagine how angry he is by the child abusers and other criminals inside the holy church He established. There is such a thing as appropriate and righteous anger on behalf of the Lord and the precious children He sent us to love and protect from evil. Our anger need not poison our souls; we only demand that justice be served and that the House of the Lord be cleansed of evil. Then we will be at peace and pray for forgiveness for the miscreants, who have the audacity to pray for forgiveness from God for our anger at evil being allowed, protected and spread throughout our holy church. Cardinal Mahony is not the only evil-doer but is presently the highest-placed. I pray that the Vatican will not fail us as profoundly as he has and still is. The buck stops there. I call for action, and I pray for action, and I don’t need the prayers of the evil to recommend my soul to God just because I am willing to express outrage against evil no matter where it is found, most especially when it is found to abound within my Church!! I do not wish the cardinal to rot in hell, so I will pray for his expanded awareness, genuine repentance, and the salvation of his soul.
Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not fulfull God’s justice. James 1:19-20
I read that article and note: “Documents suggest that Mahony at times had to press an uncooperative Vatican to get molesting priests out of the Church.” Mahony felt, “the lengthy delay has created serious problems for my own credibility.” Mahony wrote, “Bishops need to be able to act quickly and decisively in cases of clerical misconduct to assure the People of God that their rights are being fully protected.” So it seems that at some point Cardianal Mahony did understand how serious this was. After reading this I understand why Rome is not taking a hard stand against Cardinal Mahony. It seems to me that currently, offending priests are being quickly defrocked. This was not the case in the past. Protecting our children is of the highest importance.
Mark, it is not only “the lengthy delay” that has created serious problems for Cardinal Mahony’s credibility. Let’s get real here. A history of lies, criminal cover-ups, and transferring child molesters to new places where new flesh in the form of our trusting children are what has truly brought this man to his present state of a lack of credibility. I agree he fully understood the problem when he hid the evidence from the police, brought Bishop Curry into the criminally sinful plots to cover up crimes against children, etc., etc., etc.
Skai,
Thanks be to God, even a priest in sin can forgive sins. You really need to study the Faith more. Of course that priest may very well be damning his own soul by his actions in and out of the Confessional, but the power to forgive sins comes from God not from the priest.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Skai,
I should have written “the power to forgive and retain sins comes from God not the priest”!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Kenneth, what I’m asking is “chapter and verse” of Church Doctrine that directly addresses this question of the limit to how evil a priest can become until God yanks his Sacramental authority.
Skai-
What’s with the splitting of hairs? What’s the point? It is better for one to get his head out of the trees in order to see the forest!
Blessings from our Lord to you are there for the asking.
One problem with the way you phrase your explanation, Kenneth, is that it makes a “Platonic Form” out of Sacrament. So, how can there be a Sacrament without a person engaged with it? If a priest, eg, becomes so evil that he enters the category of “unforgiveable sin”, then he is absolutely not engaged with God or anything of God, which would mean any Sacrament or authority. God would not act sacramentally through absolutely unforgiveable souls. Scripture tells us that there is a “man of sin”; thus, it is possible that some priests can become totally and irrevocably unforgiveable. My argument is that God will not act through such a man, and that therefore, there is a limit on a priest’s authority to perform a sacrament. I’m asking for the Magisterial document that thoroughly addresses this hypothesis.
Anyone who obtains ordination under false pretenses, in other words by fraud, is NOT a valid priest. There has to be a conscientious, sincere, commitment between the candidate and Our Lord in order for it to take effect. The mere ritual of ordination does not validate the orders of an individual. Many Soviet agents infiltrated government positions of authority over the years. After they are exposed must people continue to respect their false front as patriots and men of position?
Kenneth is correct, as usual. But I must add my two cents by reminding all that a priest in sin could, through the power of God, grant absolution but a fake priest, an undercover agent of evil, cannot!
So, Baron, other than your opinion, where is the Magisterial document that provides you with absolute certainty, or is this an election for the best opinion?
Skai…I totally agree…provide some data…then we can proceed
CCC #1138:
“This is the meaning of the Church’s affirmation that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: “by the very fact of the action’s being performed”), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that “the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God.” From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.”
Kenneth is right.
Recently my local newspaper ran a number of extensive articles on the priests permitted to function due to Cardinal Mahony’s coverups — and the fact some still function in the community. I sent this reply to the newspaper:
Recently this Newspaper had a headline article stating that “Former priests could be next door.” Of course, “The Sun” went on to reveal that the homosexual priests involved in the tragic abuse of children are the ones that are of concern in the article. I, for one, would not be too disturbed if one of these priest moved next door to me; provided that he had repented and reformed his life. After all, God will forgive even such dastardly individuals if they are truly repentant.
Come to think of it, I already live in a neighborhood that undoubtedly has a number of women and men that, although they did not abuse children over a period of time, decided to murder them in the womb -– a rather more drastic abuse of a child. These individuals go around their normal duties and live next door without a word of condemnation by “The Sun”. At least those abused by homosexual priests still have a life to live -– admittedly a life of suffering due to the evil acts perpetrated on them. Not so for the little innocent babies. They have been murdered. Come to think of it, even their killers will also be forgiven if they truly repent. God is merciful.
Edward, your letter to the paper comparing the child abusers to the child killers is very thought-provoking.
The first group is condemned by everyone for their crimes — but the second group goes about its business as if nothing were wrong.
One group killed the souls of so many little kids — the other killed the bodies of countless innocents.
I wish the paper would print your letter!
I agree with you, Mackz.
I love Maryanne’s statement…”expanded awareness”…
I have come to the conclusion that Maryanne is always the sound voice of reason, she writes in a wonderfully, engaging manner… and Skai as well… I was formerly “cheeseburger” (lent has caused me to change it)… call me Gator… my posts as well are sound and reasonable… and always Catholic… just returned from a wonderful Tridentine Mass at my parish… I use the 1962 missal, published in London. I purchased my copy right outside the Vatican. The nihil obstat and Imprimatur are from 2007. Praised be Jesus Christ.
If memory serves, “Ex opere operato,” Skai, is the Latin phrase explaining why even sinful priests, deacons and bishops can validly administer the Sacraments.
A priest sleeping with his housekeper can still absolve sins — but he will have to answer for his own sins when the time comes.
A bishop stealing from the collection can still validly ordain priests — but he will have a reckoning when he meets his Maker.
All of this springs from the Church’s firm conviction that it is truly Christ who baptises, who consecrates, who confirms, who forgives sins, merely using the ordained man as His insturment.
I wonder if a priest that does not know right from wrong can still absolve sins. I remember the priest who raped a young girl many times, at the age of 11 she became pregnant and he procured an abortion for her but he admonished the girl for this, telling her it was her fault. The Cardinal did not immediately remove this priest from the priesthood, he did not consider the man to be a pedophile because he also had relationships with adult women. In my opinion this priest was so depraved and his sense of right and wrong so twisted that I question that such a man as this had the power to absolve sins. In my opinion he should have been banned from the confessional and defrocked immediately.
MarkfromPA,
Is this another history lesson or were you glad that you didn’t have to keep your real feelings inside while posting on an anti-Catholic homosexual website?
Davenport Mark • a month ago −
Maybe some Catholic publications and blog sites were eerily silent but I bet a lot of bishops and priests were listening closely to President Obama’s words. And I bet his words were a light to their souls. There will surely be many private conversations in support of our President. I think many of these bishops and priests were happy to hear our President speak up for gays. Too bad that many will have to keep their feelings deep inside.
Catherine, yes, that is my opinion. I try to refrain from mentioning President Obama here because many of the posters despise the man. I don’t think I will change any minds here but he is our President and I have respect for the office and for the man, even though I do not agree with everything he does.
Catherine, I have a degree in history and am something of a presidential scholar. I usually watch all the inauguration addresses of our presidents. I actually taped the inaugural addresses of both President Bushes. One of my good friends disliked President George W. Bush so I usually avoided discussing President Bush with my friend. There were some presidents that I didn’t particularly care for such as Andrew Jackson, John Tyler and Bill Clinton but I try to keep a certain distance when discussing historical events in American History.
Mark from PA,
Wow, so that’s what your posting on other blogs?!! Thanks for discovering this, Catherine.
Mark from PA, from here on out, when I read your comments, one word will come to mind and that word is DECEPTION.
Catherine, I could not begin to list the number of posters on this website who have said or implied that many bishops and priests are gay. I do not recall Mark from PA ever taking issue with those posts. So what’s the difference between what Mark posted on other websites and what has been posted here? Maybe he learned it from the posters here.
Mark from PA, your opinion or my personal opinion does not mean anything. You should not defame the Church with such writings, since you can not prove anything you wrote in this post. It is merely hearsay.
Did you personally see the rape?
Unless he is in jail after a fair trial, how do you know what you read is true?
Mike, the information that I shared was from “secret files” of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that were read as testimony at a trial in Philadelphia. It refers to Father Cudemo. I am not defaming the Church. Father Cudemo is the one who defamed the Church by his evil and sinful actions. You can look this up for yourself. I feel offended that a man like this was allowed to remain in the priesthood for so long. It is beyond sad and tragic.
Mike, please verify what I have told you. This was big news here in Pennsylvania. When I was a young person I never knew such evil things existed. I had a very idealized view of the Catholic Church. This stuff is painful to me. That priest never went to jail. He thought that he was a victim and that he was being picked on. He refused to go for treatment as he didn’t think what he did was all that bad. He felt entitled. Eventually he was defrocked. My heart goes out to women and girls who have been abused by pigs like that man.
Baron seems pretty sound as well…Skai like myself is quite traditional…you seem so as well Baron…good show lad
From Cardinal Mahony’s blog:
“But through God’s grace, I am for the first time realizing that I should be praying for the very things from which I cringe, the disgrace I abhor, the fool that I seem.
“Lent is a long period of time, but I am not sure where I will be by Easter on this particular journey embracing and praying for humiliation.”
Well, bud, if you are praying for humiliation, your prayers are answered. As Jesus warned you, “there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed…”
I hope I am interpreting Cardinal Mahony’s written words correctly when I say I believe that by saying he is praying for humiliation, he means he wishes to humble himself, not to be further humiliated from without by those of us who are condemning his profound failures and acts of deception, criminal cover-ups, and failure to protect our children from evil and abuse.
It would be a very important step in the right direction if the . . . oh, so hard to say . . . cardinal . . . would indeed cross the threshold from defensive defiance to genuine humility, abandoning forever his apparent arrogance, which may indeed be a cover-up for feelings of profound self-disdain.
It is pretty hard to find that sweet spot between Christian humility and a great enough regard for one’s essential and eternal soul to reach for the stars in being as good and faithful a human being and Christian as one can possibly be without acquiring a sense of superiority over one’s fellow man, a sense of personal exceptionalism and therefore entitlement, a sense of being somehow above the law.
We have seen this clearly and tragically throughout recent times: in Richard Nixon, in many of our sports heroes, and even in ourselves at times, but we cannot bear it in our spiritual leaders, especially when that incorrect view of the nature of things brings inestimable harm upon our innocent children and upon our beloved Holy Mother Church. We know it is a futile arrogance and denounce it wherever we see it, turning away from its dictates and denouncing its adherants.
Fortunately for us, we have to guide us the lessons Jesus Christ brought to us through His words, his parables, and His endlessly wondrous deeds. In addition to the Bible, we have the exquisite teachings of the Church, as well as countless great teachers who bring us stories of the lives of the saints to study and incorporate into our very beings in order to help us manage our lives in imitation of Christ, as the saints have done.
I wonder if it is possible to fall so far from grace as those priests, bishops and cardinals have about whom we are crying, and yet miraculously be made aware somehow of those things which we may have known for a long time but never fully grasped. I want to believe in redemption as not merely a great human goal, but as a practical possibility that we may be privileged to witness in our days. Is it possible that the evil-doers among our Church ordained will indeed come to understand, acknowledge, repent, and confess the sins about which we are so profoundly hurt, and turn to Jesus Christ Himself for forgiveness, or are they lost to God forever?
If it were to be so, and we could be made aware of it, perhaps there could be no greater underlining of the truth of Christian redemption than to witness in our own time our wicked ordained become truly humble before God. Perhaps then the watching world would become more open to embracing the wonderful faith we all share, and perhaps help restore our own assaulted faith in the Church that is the repository of our greatest gift, our precious faith.
The last lines of this story are not yet written. Dare I hope that the . . . cardinal’s . . . prayers will be answered?
Marianne, I think that many of our Church leaders are finally getting it and understanding what a horrible thing abuse of our young people is. It is very important that people know about this. Silence and secrets are what made this so much worse and caused so many more to suffer. The young men in our seminaries must learn about this and know about the suffering of the young. We need to prevent this from happening in the future.
I would say that the Cardinal will have the wrath of God at the end, and will have to pay big time for all the crimes he has commented as a priest and hiding these sick men. God will take care of him in his great way. It is said by a great saint, “HELL is paved with the skulls of priests and the walls of Bishops’.”
by their fruits you will recognize them…Matthew Capter 7: 15-20
Search the article in the washington post: Controversy over Cardinal Mahony’s conclave vote reaches Vatican