The "legacy" of Roger Cardinal Mahony

These are what Roger Cardinal Mahony will leave behind as archbishop of the largest US diocese.

Over priced cathedral -  Estimates for the restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, damaged by the 1994 California Earthquake, ranged around $180 million.  But Mahony thinks this is too expensive for such a small cathedral.  So he built the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels priced at $250 million.  Wow!  Now that is economically sound.  His cathedra alone costs $1M.

The ugly tabernacle costs $1M.

 
The old cathedral and the site were taken over by the city, due to a settlement agreement with the Archdiocese where the city gave the Archdiocese the land where the new Cathedral stands. The city then sold the former cathedral building complex to developer Tom Gilmore in 1999 for $4.6 million.  The damaged cathedral structure for only $6 million contrary to Mahony's estimate of $180 million.  The old cathedral now is named simply Vibiana and it became an events center and performance venue.  The old altar can be seen in the events venue.  What a way to treat a holy place!

The old Sta. Vibiana Cathedral

Vibiana now

Unprecented settlement case - Cardinal Mahony settled out of court with sex abuse victims of priests of his archdiocese for a whopping $660 million, an average of $1 million per victim.  He tragically mishandled  the sex abuse cases in LA particularly that of Oliver O'Grady.  This ex-priest confessed to his crime to the cardinal yet Mahony transferred him to another parish instead of laicizing him or reporting him to civil authorities.  Now this is within his hands yet surprisingly the media does not throw anything at Mahony but instead on the Pope!  Why would the media do that?  Mahony is pro women's ordination!

Liturgical and Theological dissent fest -  Each year, the Archdiocese holds the Religious Education Conference where you will see, apart from dancing girls...dancing deacons and dancing bishops.   And more than that, dissenting theologians and even pro-gay marriage and pro-abortion advocates are invited as speakers. 

Drastic drop of priestly vocations -  Under Mahony's leadership, the Archdiocese registered the largest drop of priestly vocations. (The Official Catholic Directory. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1982-2010.).  This Mahony attributes in his pastoral letter "As I Have Done for You: A Pastoral Letter on Ministry," as "What some refer to as a 'vocations crisis' is, rather, one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council. [I think it is!] It is a sign of God's deep love for the Church, [NO! NO!  NO!] and an invitation to a more creative and effective ordering of gifts and energy in the Body of Christ."  Honestly, he should either be a lawyer or a PR man and not a priest!

***

Thank God, the man is going.  I hope he answers for every bad things he did and be truly sorry for them.