Pope Francis appointed disgraced Cardinal Roger Mahony to be his special envoy to the Catholic Diocese of Scranton’s 150th anniversary Mass. But after uproar, the diocese removed the announcement of Mahony’s visit from their website and told LifeSiteNews the cardinal informed them “late last week” that he’ll be unable to attend.

On January 13, the Diocese of Scranton issued a press release saying, “Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony, Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles, as his special envoy at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the erection of the Diocese of Scranton, to be observed with a Pontifical Mass on March 4 in the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Scranton.”

“We are most grateful to our Holy Father for appointing Cardinal Mahony to be his personal envoy for this special celebration, and we are honored that the Cardinal has so graciously accepted this invitation,” Scranton Bishop Joseph C. Bambera said in this press release.

Local Catholics, part of a local Church Militant “Resistance” chapter, promised to protest the event.

The January 13 press release announcing Mahony’s visit has since been removed from the diocesan website. A cached view of it shows that on February 15, 2018, it was still available on the diocesan website. (Church Militant’s article on Catholics planning to protest Mahony was published on February 15.)

On Monday, Bill Genello, the diocese’s executive director of communications, said “Bishop Bambera was informed late last week that his Eminence, Roger Cardinal Mahony, is unable to attend the Mass commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Scranton Mass on March 4, 2018.”

Genello also sent a lengthy statement on the Diocese of Scranton’s anti-sex abuse policies.

Mahony, who as the archbishop of Los Angeles covered up priestly sex abuse while defending Communion for pro-abortion politicians and targeting EWTN’s orthodox Mother Angelica, was disciplined in 2013 by his successor Archbishop Jose Gomez. Gomez banned Mahony from “any administrative or public duties.”

Full story at LifeSiteNews.

[Editor’s note: On Feb. 18, Cardinal Mahony, without explanation, posted on his blog a 2013 statement from Archbishop José Gomez regarding his “priestly status” in the Los Angeles archdiocese.)