Its gotten minimal press, and what occurred remains quite fuzzy. Three months after it took place, Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, who leads the huge Archdiocese of Los Angeles, told folks he was mugged last July on a sidewalk near the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the mother church for the archdiocese.
He said he had gone out to mail a letter when he was assaulted.He opted, at the time, not to report the incident to police. He made it sort of public in October when he spoke to a gathering of priests.
It wasnt until early December that the cardinal talked to Los Angeles police detectives about his mugging, long, long after the trail was cold.The cardinal said the man came up to him and said, Hey, I recognize you. Youre the cardinal, arent you? At that point the man became angry with Mahony, apparently overhow the molestation scandals were handled.
Now, tongue in cheek, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez has decided he must do all within his power to bring the attacker to justice. In a Dec. 23 column, Lopez raises a number of questions about the alleged incident, including why such a responsible man as a Catholic cardinal would not immediately report such a crime. Lopez quickly of course, notes child molestation crimes went unreported to police under Mahonys watch.
Its the same archdiocese that, in July, agreed to a settlement in which it paid out $660 to some 500 victims of sexual abuse. The agreement kept Mahony from having to testify in court about alleged concealment and cover-up of the crimes. Lopez also questions why a cardinal would find it necessary to go out on the street to mail his own letters, given the help he has around himself regularly. Some critics have questioned whether a man who flies first class would venture out and mail his own letters, Lopez said.
Ive begun a personal manhunt to locate Cardinal Mahonys assailant, Lopez wrote. Consider it both an olive branch and my Christmas present to him. Please let me know if the cardinal can meet with me and a sketch artist and provide a good description to aid in my investigation. Lopez said he talk to LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon to find out what the officer was told when he interviewed Mahony by phone for details. The lieutenant said he understood from Mahony that the man was upset that the cardinals failure to report the molestations early only led to priests violating still more victims. The guy pushed him and punched him at the same time, Vernon told Lopez. It happened so fast, and when he was on the ground, the guy kicked him a couple of times.
A priest, the Rev. Joseph Shea, who heard Mahonys account in October told the Associated Press that the cardinal was so badly hurt that he required hospitalization. Yet the police officer, Vernon, was told by Mahony that he did not go to a doctor or hospital. He said his assailant was Hispanic.
Writes Lopez, Father Shea was quoted as saying Mahoney let his attacker off the hook to offer it up in reparation for the sins of others. Id nominate the cardinal for sainthood, but without a clarification on how badly Mahony was hurt , how can he know how many sins have been absolved?
On Dec. 5, the Catholic News Agency quoted a priest who was at the conference:Cardinal Mahony reportedly was telling the priests they all had a price to pay for the sexual abuses perpetrated by other clergy. He relayed the story of the assault as an example of the personal toll he’s endured, several priests said. Yet the news agency could not get the archdiocese to confirm what the cardinal told the priests.Adding to the confusion, Lt. Vernon said he understood the incident took place near Temple Street and Broadway in Los Angeles, but no mailbox can be found there, although one was a block away. So maybe the cardinal was on his way to the mailbox or returning from it.
Famous people, no doubt, think twice when they are part of an ugly incident. It becomes much bigger news than when an obscure person is in that place. The publicity from them can stick with the famous for years and affect public perception of them. Maybe the good cardinal simply didnt want the media fuss. Or was the cardinal turning the other cheek and quickly forgiving, possibly out of guilt for his own failings in the molestation scandals?
