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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...

American Cardinal Roger Mahony tweeted Thursday that his fellow princes of the church are close to setting a date for the conclave that will choose the next pope.

ARIZONA'S DREADFUL ANTI-IMMIGRANT LAW The Arizona legislature just passed the country's most retrogressive, mean-spirited, and useless anti-immigrant law [SB 1070, awaiting the expected signature of Gov. Jan Brewer]. The tragedy of the law is its totally flawed reasoning: that immigrants come to our country to rob, plunder, and consume public resources. That is not only false, the premise is nonsense. What led the Arizona legislature to pass such a law is so obvious to all of us who have been working for federal comprehensive immigration reform: the present immigration system is completely incapable of balancing our nation's need for labor...

On Saturday Rocco Palmo announced on his blog that he has learned that the terma, the final three names submitted to Pope Benedict for the job of Shepherd of Los Angeles, includes both Hispanic and Anglo candidates. Palmo writes: "again, the demographics of the archdiocese are an immense consideration here, but so is the skill-set of a candidate given the Holy See's assessment of the place" ("Back Page" live discussion, posted at 10:27). In the last post, I looked at the Hispanic bishops most frequently named in connection with this story. But what if it's not a Hispanic? Obviously, if,...

Catholic blogger Thomas Peters over at the American Papist has been posting (here, here, and here) that a coadjuter bishop has been appointed for Los Angeles. Rocco Palmer at Whispers in the Loggia has confirmed that something is imminent, reporting that the news will come around the cardinal's 74th birthday, February 27th. The coadjuter would of course become Cardinal Mahony's successor (for more on what Church law says about coadjutor bishops go here). That an appointment has already been made was denied by the official diocesan spokesman, but either way everyone knows a new bishop is coming sooner or later....

Cardinal Roger Mahony has banned Holocaust-denying British Bishop Richard Williamson from entering any Roman Catholic church, school or other facility in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Mahony published the ban today in a joint statement with two members of the American Jewish Committee. Williamson is one of four members of an ultra-traditionalist group who were excommunicated. He denied the Holocaust in a previously taped interview broadcast in January on the same day Pope Benedict XVI lifted his excommunication. Mahony's statement makes no mention of any plans by Williamson to come to Los Angeles, but it notes that the situation has...

Thousands of Catholics from throughout the greater Los Angeles area gathered in East Los Angeles Dec. 2 to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe as the mother of all peoples -- from every language, race and culture. A mile-long procession, the oldest religious procession in the city honoring Mary, led participants to East Los Angeles College Stadium, where Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and the auxiliary bishops of Los Angeles, numerous priests and more than 15,000 of the faithful gathered for Mass. The theme this year was "Mother Without Borders: Bringing Down the Walls of Injustice." The event was part of a...

Massive PR machine? Some say Cardinal Mahony’s willingness to meet with sexual abuse victims nothing more than a public relations stunt Over the past year, Cardinal Roger Mahony has met individually with 70 victims of clergy sexual abuse. Archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg told the July 30 Los Angeles Times that Mahony has scheduled more meetings with sexual abuse victims and that “he has said he will meet with any victim who wants to meet with him.” But Lee Bashworth, 37, who claims abuse by former priest Michael Wempe, told the Times, that, though he would “relish an opportunity to tell...

Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles faces a firestorm after a $660 million settlement with victims of priest abuse, but he is considered unlikely to resign as legions of Latinos stand behind him. In the most Latino of the big U.S. cities, Mahony's support for equality and immigration reform have earned him a following that may help him avoid the fate of other U.S. Roman Catholic leaders forced out in abuse scandals. "I have a lot of confidence in the political and religious capital he has to survive this," said Clara Irazabal, a professor of urban planning at University of...

You might be at your computer right now, but just across the street from Disneyland somewhere around 40,000 of the faithful have gathered for the archdiocese of Los Angeles' Religious Education Congress, which runs through tomorrow. American Catholicism's largest annual gathering, the four-day Magisterium-fest kicked off with Thursday's Youth Day, for which a sold-out arena of 10,000 young people took part in a full plate of liturgies and workshops. Among its headliners was Tony Melendez, the local guitarist and speaker who's moved hundreds of thousands over two decades of appearances the world over, most memorably getting John Paul II...

Like the three services celebrated earlier in the morning and the four that will follow into the afternoon, the 10:45 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in the Pico-Union district of downtown Los Angeles is crammed to the rafters, even though the church holds nearly 1,000 parishioners. When I spoke on a recent Sunday to Msgr. Jarlath Cunnane, or Father Jay, as he is known by his congregation, he said: “If we had the space, I think another thousand people might well come to each Sunday Mass. We’re full, bursting at the seams, and so are most...

Michael Edwin Wempe, the pedophile priest whom Cardinal Roger M. Mahony said he regretted returning to the ministry, was sentenced today to three years in prison for molesting a boy more than a decade ago. The 66-year-old retired priest was found guilty in February in the first significant criminal conviction of a Los Angeles cleric since the church's sexual abuse scandal erupted four years ago. Wempe received the maximum sentence, but has already served 600 days, so he will spend about another year in prison. He made no statement to the court. The case garnered close attention because it came...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Several U.S. cardinals had a busy morning in Washington April 28 urging humane and compassionate immigration legislation as the Senate prepared to debate immigration reform. The U.S. bishops want a "comprehensive reform" that deals compassionately with the millions of undocumented aliens in the United States, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said in brief remarks at a photo opportunity between meetings on Capitol Hill. The U.S. bishops have expressed support for many aspects of a compromise bill expected to reach the Senate floor in early May, but they are also concerned about harsh enforcement provisions in the...

The national immigration debate is muddying Republican relations with Roman Catholics - coveted swing voters who comprise about one-quarter of the electorate. While Catholic bishops and many Republican politicians share opposition to abortion, they're often split over the specifics of immigration reform. Church leaders are challenging - and in some cases even vowing to defy - the tougher enforcement proposals by GOP lawmakers. The issue highlights the roadblocks that the Catholic worldview creates for Republicans and Democrats. Catholics are generally conservative on personal issues such as marriage, but tend to be liberal on social justice problems, limiting the appeal of...

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony acknowledged to Los Angeles Catholics in his 2004 "Report to the People of God" that he left five priests in ministry despite complaints that they had molested children. But a Times analysis of church records released since then shows that he left 11 other priests in ministry for periods up to 13 years after parishioners raised concerns about inappropriate behavior with children. Seven of these 11 cases were not detailed in the People of God report. The other four were mentioned incompletely; the report said they were removed when complaints were lodged but did not disclose...

After years of stonewalling, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles has run out of excuses for blocking the prosecution of rogue priests accused in the Catholic Church's pedophilia scandal. While other bishops and cardinals cooperated with the authorities, Mahony became a study in arrogance who only compounded the church's embarrassment. His lawyers concocted elaborate hypotheses that church leaders and priests - under the confidentiality of "the sanctification process" - somehow enjoyed shelter from their basic duty to cooperate with criminal law enforcement. The Supreme Court put an end to the evasions on Monday in refusing to hear the cardinal's final...

A new poll shows U.S. Catholics, like Americans at large, oppose granting amnesty to illegal aliens, despite their bishops' stance in favor of such a path to citizenship. "Catholics appear to be slightly to the left of the American public at large on the issue of immigration," said Zogby spokesman Fritz Wenzel, adding they are not as liberal as the U.S. bishops, who have issued six pastoral letters on immigration in the past 20 years. When asked "Do you support or oppose amnesty for undocumented workers who are already in the U.S.?" 34 percent of Catholics said they support it,...

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony must turn over to L.A. prosecutors the personnel files of two priests accused of molestation after the U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear his request to keep them private. Though the ruling only affects the files of two priests, it likely opens the door to the release of hundreds of confidential Catholic church files sought by more than 500 people who say they were molested by priests with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Mahony has fought more vigorously than any other prelate in the United States to block attempts by prosecutors and plaintiff attorneys to...

While Congress was in recess, immigrants and supporters continued to rally for humane immigration reform throughout the country. In Los Angeles, religious leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions and several thousand people gathered downtown for a vigil and procession that emphasized American pride, inclusiveness, peaceful demonstration and affirming the democratic process. =============================== Importance of symbols Immigration reform leaders have become increasingly aware of how every symbol is being perceived by American citizens as they watch television and read newspapers. Some citizens have become alarmed at seeing foreign flags being waved during demonstrations. Prior to the vigil Cardinal Mahony asked...

AgapePress) - A Roman Catholic immigration reform activist is joining a growing number of her fellow Catholics in calling for a boycott of parishes and dioceses that support the deliberate violation of American immigration laws. Cardinal Roger Mahony heads the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest Catholic archdiocese in the United States. As an outspoken supporter of illegal aliens, Mahony has criticized a bill that would tighten enforcement of immigration laws, a position that puts him at odds with an increasing number of church members who support the legislation. According to Susan Tully of the Federation for American Immigration Reform...