Free Republic

Three nuns who recently learned that their Santa Barbara convent would be sold to help cover the costs of Los Angeles' multimillion-dollar priest sexual abuse settlement say they have been overwhelmed with offers of help -- and media attention."The support has been just unbelievable," said Sister Angela Escalera, the local superior of the Sisters of Bethany house. "It's come from all parts of Santa Barbara and outside too. And from all denominations. It's just astounding." She and two other nuns at the small, eastside convent received word in late August that the dwelling, which is owned by the Roman Catholic...

In today’s editions of the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, there are editorials praising Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahony for opposing restrictive immigration bills. If a bill with punitive measures gets passed, Cardinal Mahony wants priests and the laity to defy the law. Here’s what Catholic League president Bill Donohue had to say about this development: “The Los Angeles Times not only commends Cardinal Mahony for his latest statement on public policy, it congratulates him for ‘reinforcing the right of religious leaders to speak out on the moral ramifications of political issues.’ This is a dramatic...

Los Angeles (AP) -- The head of the Los Angeles Roman Catholic archdiocese asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let the church keep priest personnel records out of the hands of investigators in a sex abuse probe. Attorneys for Cardinal Roger M. Mahony filed the petition on Thursday, arguing that giving prosecutors private records on two priests would violate the constitutional separation of church and state. The petition follows a decision by the California Supreme Court last year that the archdiocese must produce the files, which were subpoenaed three years ago. "What is most important from the perspective of Cardinal...

Grievously Sinful National Review Board Rebukes Cardinal Mahony BY CHRISTOPHER ZEHNDERThe National Review Board, a group a prominent laymen investigating reports of sexual misconduct by priests, in a February 27 report castigated the American bishops in general for their handling of the sexual abuse crisis, but singled out four bishops by name. One of these was Cardinal Roger Mahony. "The inaction of those bishops who failed to protect their people from predators was. grievously sinful," said the report. "Somehow, the 'smoke of Satan' was allowed to enter the church, and as a result the church itself has been deeply wounded."...