The Vatican has come under fire following the announcement that Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony, a senior figure long associated with covering up child sex abuse in the Catholic Church, will take part in the solemn rite of closing Pope Francis’s coffin ahead of the late pontiff’s funeral.
Cardinal Mahony, 89, the former Archbishop of Los Angeles, was stripped of all public and administrative duties in 2013 after internal church files revealed that he had helped shield abusive priests from prosecution. Despite his controversial legacy, Mahony has been named among eleven senior clergymen scheduled to participate in the ceremony on Friday evening, presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo.
The inclusion of Mahony, who led the largest Catholic archdiocese in the United States for 25 years, has drawn widespread criticism and reignited painful memories of the Church’s historic failings in dealing with sexual abuse.
“This is deeply unsettling,” said Father Patrick Briscoe, editor of Our Sunday Visitor Magazine. “For many of the faithful – especially those wounded by the abuse crisis – seeing Cardinal Mahony in this symbolic role risks sending the message that the Church still hasn’t fully grasped the gravity of its failures.”
The Los Angeles archdiocese was at the centre of one of the most damning abuse scandals in Church history. In 2007, it paid out a record-breaking £415 million to over 500 alleged victims of abuse by more than 220 priests and Church employees, following decades of alleged cover-ups and legal manoeuvring. Confidential documents later showed that Mahony actively worked to relocate accused priests rather than report them to law enforcement.
Among the most disturbing cases was that of Msgr Peter Garcia, who admitted to abusing more than a dozen boys, many of whom were undocumented immigrants. Instead of defrocking Garcia or alerting police, the archdiocese sent him to an out-of-state treatment facility. Mahony expressed concern in a letter that his return might provoke legal action.
Despite widespread criticism, few prosecutions followed the document releases due to the death of many accused or the expiration of statutes of limitations.
Cardinal Mahony’s selection has also sparked comparisons to Pope Francis’s own record on abuse. While the late pontiff made several significant reforms and called for “decisive action” on child abuse, he faced backlash for defending controversial figures such as Bishop Juan Barros in Chile, who was accused of concealing the crimes of a notorious paedophile priest. Francis later reversed his position, accepted Barros’s resignation, and apologised for “grave mistakes of judgment”.
The Vatican has so far declined to clarify who nominated Cardinal Mahony for the role, stating only that participants were selected based on seniority within the College of Cardinals.
“The irony is striking,” Father Briscoe added. “Pope Francis was known for condemning clericalism and insisting on accountability in abuse cases. To now see a figure like Mahony included in this deeply symbolic rite feels at odds with the very values Pope Francis championed.”
Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday, with leaders and faithful from across the globe expected to attend. For many survivors and advocates, however, the shadow cast by Mahony’s involvement in the ceremony may prove difficult to ignore.
