Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony stands in front of a tapestry depicting the 'Communion of Saints,' inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, in this April 26, 2002 file photo.
LOS ANGELES - Cardinal Roger Mahony said he will begin a three-week sabbatical on Oct. 6 that will take him to Italy and several Central African countries.
In a letter that appeared in Friday's edition of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles newspaper The Tidings, Mahony said he hoped to gain a "renewed sense of commitment to Jesus Christ and to the work of evangelization" from the trip.
Attorneys for alleged church abuse victims expressed surprise at the announcement and criticized Mahony for leaving the country as legal proceedings in clergy sex abuse cases gain momentum.
"We're right in the middle of a process that clearly requires his attention," said Ray Boucher, lead attorney for alleged sex abuse victims in Southern California. "We don't have a problem with ministry in other countries, but there's a dire need for ministry here in Los Angeles. For him to leave without seeking leave of the court is irresponsible."
Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg did not return calls Saturday. Archdiocese attorneys Donald Woods Jr. and J. Michael Hennigan did not respond to calls and e-mails.
The archdiocese faces nearly 500 clergy abuse lawsuits and was recently ordered to turn over confidential files of two priests as part of a separate criminal investigation. The archdiocese has said it will appeal that decision.
Mahony, 68, has been ordered to give a private deposition by Nov. 5 in sex abuse lawsuits against the Stockton and Fresno dioceses, where he worked before coming to Los Angeles two decades ago.
It was unclear what effect Mahony's sabbatical would have on the deposition.
Plaintiffs' attorney Venus Soltan said the cardinal's attorneys told her of the sabbatical and have "refused to give me any date within the time-frame ordered by the court."
In his open letter, Mahony said he was recently granted permission by the Holy See to take a leave each October for the next several years to visit countries where "newer, younger Catholic Churches are taking root." It will be his first sabbatical in the four decades since his ordination.
"Since Los Angeles has countless thousands of people from so many continents and countries, each year's sabbatical will enable me to know and understand the local culture and religious practices of our immigrant peoples," Mahony wrote.
Mahony, a high-profile advocate for the poor and oppressed, will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi before flying to Italy in late October, where he will study art and architecture in Florence and Siena.
While in Africa, Mahony will attend public Masses, visit AIDS/HIV projects and orphanages and meet with Rwandan genocide victims, Congolese bishops and U.S. and United Nations officials.
He returns to Los Angeles on Oct. 29.
ON THE NET
Archdiocese of Los Angeles: http://www.la-archdiocese.org/english/
Sounds like tomorrow
will be a good day for news.
Bad news for the church.
For a joyful split second, I read it as meaning "deposed" in the other sense, hopefully by an angry mob. But then I realized it meant the trial discovery sense.