CALIFORNIA: Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony Fired Over Molestation Cover-Ups

The Catholic Church has terminated Cardinal Roger Mahony for his role in cloaking pedophile priests from law enforcement.

Just hours after a court-ordered massive release of priest personnel files revealed the extent of Mahony's role in covering up for known sexual predators, Archbishop José Gómez announced Thursday night that he has relieved Mahony of his remaining duties. A former top aide to Mahony also stepped down from his current post. This is the first time since the massive abuse scandal exploded in 2002 hen there were direct repercussions for top church officials. In December 2002, Cardinal Bernard Law resigned his post as archbishop of Boston when protesters and priests called for him to step aside. "I find these files to be brutal and painful reading," Gómez said in a statement, referring to the newly released files made public by the church Thursday night just hours after a judge's order. "The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children."

The above-linked article notes that so far Mahony has only been "relieved of his duties as Cardinal" and that he may continue to perform services in his Los Angeles parish.  According to a spokesman for the Archdiocese, Mahony remains a "priest in good standing." In fact, as he is still technically a Cardinal, albeit one without a job, Mahony is still eligible to vote for the next pope.