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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 Rogery Mahony celebrates a Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los...LA Cardinal Apologizes to PlaintiffsSunday, July 15, 2007 6:27 PM EDTThe Associated PressBy GILLIAN FLACCUS LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardinal Roger Mahony, leader of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, apologized Sunday to the hundreds of people who will get a share of a $660 million settlement over allegations of clergy sex abuse."There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them. The one thing I wish I could give the victims ... I cannot,"...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will settle its clergy abuse cases for at least $600 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal, The Associated Press learned Saturday. Attorneys for the archdiocese and alleged victims are expected to announce the deal Monday, the day the first of more than 500 clergy abuse cases was scheduled for jury selection, according to two people with knowledge of the agreement. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been made public. The archdiocese and its insurers will pay between...

A documentary film featuring an extraordinarily candid interview with a former priest convicted of molesting children has heightened interest among law enforcement officials here in considering a criminal case against Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, says a prosecutor who has been investigating sexual abuse cases involving priests.

Earlier this month, a scant 400 people marched in the Los Angeles Labor Day demonstration in support of illegal immigrants, a dramatic decline compared to the 400,000 who attempted to bring downtown Los Angeles to a halt in May. Still, this didn’t keep Cardinal Roger Mahoney from joining in and proclaiming to tell parishioners at the opulent Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles that “without this immigrant population, this state would be bankrupt.” To the contrary, Mahoney has it backwards. Unless this illegal immigrant invasion is stopped right now, the state of California is certain...

In L.A. and O.C., illegal immigrant Catholics can volunteer with children without background checks because they lack the required ID.Not wanting to lose illegal immigrant volunteers, the Los Angeles and Orange Roman Catholic dioceses have quietly backed away from a pledge to root out pedophiles by running fingerprint background checks on anyone who works with children. The revamped policy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles allows church volunteer candidates without government-issue identification to give instead a sworn affidavit stating that they have not been convicted of any crime. In Orange, potential volunteers without photo IDs can submit a sworn affidavit...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pro-immigration activists say a nationwide boycott and marches planned for May 1 will flood Americas's streets with millions of Latinos to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants and shake the ground under Congress as it tackles reform. But while such a massive turnout could make for the largest protests since the civil rights era of the 1960s, not all Latinos, nor their leaders, were comfortable with such militancy -- fearing a backlash in Middle America. "There will be 2 to 3 million people hitting the streets in Los Angeles alone. We're going to close down Los Angeles,...

Cardinal Roger Mahony, an outspoken supporter of congressional proposals to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens, is urging immigrants not to participate in a worker and student boycott planned for May 1. The planned boycott, coming on the heels of massive nationwide protests, calls on students and workers to stay home in support of immigrant rights. "I believe that we can make May 1st a win-win day here in Southern California: go to work, go to school, and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterward," Mahony said in a statement released late Sunday. Mahony suggested employers and...

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...

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...

Rep. Peter King, R-NY, said Sunday that the immigration reform bill that he's co-sponsoring with Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., would have no impact whatsoever on Catholic Church programs that minister to illegal immigrants. "There's absolutely nothing in this bill that is going to put at risk any nun or priest or social worker or social agency," King told WABC Radio's "Religion on the Line." "There's been language in our law for over 50 years saying it's wrong to aid and abet or encourage illegal immigrants to come into the country or stay in the country," King said. "And that's aimed...

As an American of Irish descent, Roman Catholicism has been in my family for hundreds of years. I respect the Church because I've seen first-hand the good that it can do. Worldwide, no organization does more for the poor and downtrodden than Catholic Charities. Thus, it was no surprise when Roger Cardinal Mahony spoke from his pulpit in Los Angeles on Ash Wednesday and urged compassion for immigrants. Surely, people seeking a better life in the USA legally should get help from the Christian community. But the Cardinal's message turned out to include illegal immigrants as well, and then came...

When Cardinal Roger Mahony called on Roman Catholics this week to embrace immigrants regardless of legal status, he wasn't just reiterating the church's long tradition of reaching out to the downtrodden. Mahony and other U.S. Catholic bishops are increasingly weighing into the debate over what to do about the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States - a development that's being met with criticism from groups pushing for tougher immigration law enforcement. Catholic leaders have launched a "Justice for Immigrants" campaign, appealed to President Bush and congressional leaders for a legalization program, and sharply criticized a bill...

Wading back into the growing debate over illegal immigration, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony on Tuesday denounced what he called "hysterical" anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping California and the nation. In an interview on the eve of Ash Wednesday, Mahony said he planned to use the first day of the Lenten season to call on all 288 parishes in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, the nation's largest, to fast, pray and press for humane immigration reform. U.S. Roman Catholic bishops support proposals for a guest-worker program, legalization of undocumented immigrants and more visas for migrants' families. Mahony also criticized efforts by the Minuteman Project...

In his most forceful comments to date, Mahony said he would instruct his priests to defy legislation — if approved by Congress — that would require churches and other social organizations to ask immigrants for legal documentation before providing assistance and penalize them if they refuse to do so. That provision was included in the immigration bill recently passed by the House of Representatives; a similar proposal is in the version that the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to begin debating this week.[snip] He [Mahony] said he also planned to step up his personal political advocacy, starting with a letter to...

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles on comprehensive immigration reform. A Time magazine poll done last month found that 63 percent of adult Americans believe illegal immigration into the U.S. is either an "extremely" or "very" serious problem. Eighty-three percent think that providing social services such as food stamps for illegal immigrants costs taxpayers too much. Seven out of ten worry that "illegals" increase crime. And half say all illegal immigrants should be deported. In the first half of 2005 alone, state legislatures took up almost 300 bills on immigration policy, but only 47 passed....

  From newtimesla.com Originally published by New Times L.A. Jun 13, 2002 ©2002 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved. Mahony's Cronies In covering up for predator priests, Cardinal Roger Mahony's stayed true to a prestigious old boys' network of fellow alums from St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. By Ron Russell When Roger M. Mahony pulled the plug on child-molesting priest Carl Sutphin earlier this year after elevating him only recently to associate pastor of the soon-to-open Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral downtown, the cardinal's visible anguish stemmed from more than just embarrassment. In announcing the 69-year-old Sutphin's departure in...

Protests 'coddling' of pro-choicers at mayoral inauguration A pro-life Catholic group is calling for the resignation of Los Angeles Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony after security guards at the city's main cathedral threatened to arrest students protesting at inauguaration ceremonies held there for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The American Life League said that about a dozen students planned to attend the ceremonies for Villaraigosa -- a Catholic who supports abortion rights -- and peacefully protest with shirts and signs that read: "You can't be Catholic and pro-abortion." Cathedral security guards blocked the students' from entering and threatened them with arrest. "It is...

FATHER LAWRENCE ESTRADA Sacramental Minister "Have stole, will transubstantiate" 25 years ago, Father Lawrence Estrada was ordained a priest at St. Vibiana's Performing Arts Center/Hotel/Restaurant complex over on 2nd and Main. He's held several assignments throughout those years, including a stint as Archbishop Roger M. Mahony's priest-secretary, as well as serving as pastor of St. Stephen's Church in Monterey Park from 1996 to 2003. You can still find him at St. Stephen's, but he doesn't answer to "pastor" anymore. He is now the designated SACRAMENTAL MINISTER. He steps in when you absolutely need something to be done "ex opere operato."...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hollywood will bid farewell to Oscar-winning screen legend Gregory Peck at a giant memorial service on Monday following a small private burial in Los Angeles, his publicist told AFP. Peck died at home in his sleep Thursday at the age of 87. The public mass in the city's huge new cathedral will be led by the head of the largest US Catholic diocese, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, and the eulogy was to be given by Peck's "To Kill A Mockingbird" co-star, Brock Peters. Peck was considered a consummate movie star, known for playing heroes on the screen...

<p>LOS ANGELES - Against a backdrop of criticism for its timing and its guest list, the Los Angeles Archdiocese on Monday will open its new, $200 million downtown landmark, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.</p> <p>The opening will be marked by an invitation-only Mass and three-hour blessing ritual, with about 3,000 guests. They include large financial donors, craftsmen, and construction workers who helped erect the cathedral, as well as 500 priests and 600 lay people. An elite group of dignitaries and Catholics will witness the ceremonies, which will feature Nigerian musicians, Scottish drummers, and Vietnamese singers.</p>

This isn't the way it was supposed to be. To be sure, the weeklong celebration marking Labor Day's official opening of the lavish Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral on Bunker Hill downtown will be spectacular. For a moment, at least, Los Angeles -- home to the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, with its 3.6 million adherents -- will claim center stage of the Christian world. It isn't often that cathedrals are built, least of all one as elaborate and expensive as this one, which bears an "official" $193 million price tag that is almost certainly well below its...

 Statement of Support for Roman Catholic Faithful Rev. Malachi Martin Blessings on your endeavors. I will be praying for you all. These days and months of 1997, there seems to be a long and slow but steady sunset all over the Roman Catholic Church organization of Pope John Paul II. And no matter what he does, no matter how large the crowds at his "mega-Masses", no matter how many prayers are offered day and night by the Saints in the Church: no matter how many authenticated appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary are granted us (often with manifest miracles): no...