Cardinal Mahony's Cross

Quo vadis?



I'd say he's done a pretty good job of fleeing it.



From heraldtribune.com: Southwest Florida's Information Leader:



"Cardinal Roger Mahony called on parishioners Sunday to accept their personal crosses, noting he has accepted the sex abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church as his burden.



During Mass on the first Sunday in Lent at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Mahony called the allegations of sex abuse against some clergy 'a horrible chapter in the life of the church' and said he often wished God had sent him a different challenge.



'In my own life, the last couple of years have been very difficult because of the sexual conduct problems of some clergy,' he said. 'Very often I (say) 'Anything but that, Lord. Change this cross to something easier to bear, change this cross for me.''



Mahony, 68, made no reference to a report released Friday that found the Los Angeles archdiocese had 656 sexual abuse claims and 244 clerics accused of abuse - the highest numbers in both categories in California.



The cardinal did not mention a related report that called Los Angeles a 'troubled diocese' and singled Mahony out for resisting subpoenas seeking priest personnel files.



The reports were both released by the National Review Board, a panel of Catholic lay people charged by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops with investigating the abuse crisis.



Mahony was one of only four bishops - there are 195 bishops who run dioceses in the United States - criticized by name in the report. The others were former Boston Cardinal Bernard F. Law, Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York and Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien of Phoenix."