Roger Mahony facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Eminence Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS
Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles
Cardinal Mahony in March 2006
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Appointed	July 12, 1985
Enthroned	September 5, 1985
Predecessor	Timothy Manning
Successor	José Horacio Gómez
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Quattro Coronati
Orders
Ordination	May 1, 1962
Consecration	March 19, 1975 by Hugh Aloysius Donohoe, William Robert Johnson, and John Stephen Cummins
Created Cardinal	June 28, 1991
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1936-02-27) February 27, 1936 (age 89) Los Angeles, California, US
Denomination	Catholic Church
Parents	Victor and Loretta Mahony
Previous post	Bishop of Stockton (1980–1985) Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno and Titular Bishop of Tamascani< (1975–1980)
Education	Catholic University of America
Motto	To reconcile God's people

Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno from 1975 to 1980 and bishop of the Diocese of Stockton from 1980 to 1985.

Born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood in 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Fresno in January 1975 and consecrated bishop in March 1975. Mahony was then appointed bishop of Stockton in 1980. In 1985, he was appointed archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II, and became the first Los Angeles native to hold the office. The pope created Mahony a cardinal in 1991, and he voted in the papal conclaves that elected Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.

During his tenure as Los Angeles archbishop, Mahony was instrumental in dividing the archdiocese into five administrative subdivisions and in guiding the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which opened in September 2002.

In 2011, Mahony reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops and was succeeded by Archbishop José H. Gómez on March 1.

Early life and priesthood

Roger Mahony was born on February 27, 1936, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, the son of Victor and Loretta (née Baron) Mahony. He has a twin brother, Louis, and an older brother, Neil. Roger Mahony attended St. Charles Borromeo Grammar School in North Hollywood and Los Angeles College.

After studying at the Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary and St. John's Seminary, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Fresno on May 1, 1962, by Bishop Aloysius Joseph Willinger.

Mahony graduated from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1964 with a Master of Social Work degree. For the next 13 years, Mahony held pastoral and curial assignments in the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno and later in the newly formed Diocese of Fresno. He also taught social work at Fresno State University in Fresno, California. Mahony was named a monsignor in February 1967.

Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno

Mahony's coat of arms on the cathedra in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles

On January 7, 1975, Mahony was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Fresno and titular bishop of Tamascani by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on March 19, 1975, in Fresno from Bishop Hugh A. Donohoe, with Bishops William R. Johnson and John S. Cummins serving as co-consecrators.

Also in 1975, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Mahony as chair of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board. As chair, he worked to resolve labor disputes between the United Farm Workers, the farmworkers union, and growers.

Bishop of Stockton

On February 15, 1980, Mahony was appointed Bishop of Stockton by Pope John Paul II, as announced by the nuncio, Jean Jadot.

Archbishop of Los Angeles and Cardinal-Priest

Mahony with former U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA)

On July 16, 1985, Mahony was appointed as Archbishop of Los Angeles by John Paul II, becoming the first native Angeleno to hold that office. He was created cardinal-priest of the Basilica dei Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome by John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1991.

The1994 Northridge earthquake necessitated the abandonment of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana. Mahony then began planning the new $190 million Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Many Catholics were upset about its non-traditional design and high project cost. In response, Mahony noted that foundations and donors were funding the new cathedral, not parishes. He also said that the archdiocese needed a mother church and religious center to unite its people. One of the largest Catholic churches in the United States, the new cathedral was dedicated on September 2, 2002.

In 1987, Mahony announced the auction of the Doheny rare book collection at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. The philanthropist Carrie Estelle Doheny had donated the collection, which included a Gutenberg Bible and a first edition of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to the seminary during the 1940s and 1950s. Mahony cited the financial needs of the archdiocese and the high cost of insuring the collections as the reasons for its sale. The proceeds would fund an endowment for training new priests.

The auction raised $37.8 million for the archdiocese. However, by 1996 the archdiocese had spent as much as $25 million of the proceeds on other projects, including $1 million to renovate Mahony's residence.

During Mahony's tenure in Los Angeles, the number of priests declined while the number of lay ministers increased. Mahony remarked on this:

"What some refer to as a 'vocations crisis' is, rather, one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council. It is a sign of God's deep love for the Church, and an invitation to a more creative and effective ordering of gifts and energy in the Body of Christ."

In May 1998, Mahony announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent a prostatectomy on June 15, 1998; doctors said that the surgery was successful. Mahony was a cardinal elector in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.

Retirement and legacy

On April 6, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop José H. Gómez as the coadjutor archbishop in Los Angeles to assist Mahony. After the Vatican accepted Mahony's resignation as archbishop of Los Angeles on February 28, 2011, Gómez automatically succeeded him. The formal ceremony of transition was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, with Mahony's resignation taking canonical effect on March 1, 2011.

In his retirement, Mahony said that he planned to devote more time to advocacy for immigrants. He took up residence in St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood.

On January 31, 2013, Gómez relieved Mahony of all of his remaining public and administrative duties. Mahony remained "a priest in good standing" and could still celebrate Mass, but could no longer speak publicly or exercise a bishop's responsibilities. such as performing confirmations. Critics called Gómez's action "purely symbolic punishment" and "hand-slapping...a nearly meaningless gesture", and noted that Mahony remained "a powerful man" in the church.

Following the February 2013 resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, some Catholic groups objected to Mahony's voting in a papal conclave so soon after his censure. However, Mahony participated in the conclave in March 2013 that elected Pope Francis.

In May 2013, after officiating at a Confirmation service, Mahony told a Los Angeles Times reporter that the ban on confirmations was "news to him". Mahony added, "I've been doing them every week and I'm going to be doing them every week... So go home."

In 2018, a group launched a petition drive calling on the archdiocese to remove Mahony from St. Charles Borromeo Church.

Other offices

• Board member, Catholic University of America
• Member, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1984–1989)
• Member, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (1986–1991)
• Member, Pontifical Council for Social Communications (1989–2000)
• Member, Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See (2000–2019)
• Member, Congregation for Eastern Churches

Viewpoints

Films

In 1992, Mahony published a pastoral letter Film Makers, Film Viewers on the topic of television news and the entertainment industry.

Immigration

Mahony criticized certain provisions in the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437), introduced by Republican members of the US House of Representatives. He told US President George W. Bush that the bill would effectively prevent the Catholic Church from providing charitable assistance and religious ministry to undocumented immigrants. In May 2006, Mahony announced that he would order his clergy and lay people to ignore the law if it were passed.

Mahony personally lobbied the US senators from California, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, to have the US Senate consider a comprehensive immigration reform bill, rather than the House bill. Mahony also blamed the US Congress for the illegal immigration crisis, due to its failure to act on the issue over the previous 20 years. He supported instead the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. Neither plan passed Congress.

Mass

Mahony in September 1997 published a pastoral letter on the Mass entitled "Gather Faithfully Together: A Guide for Sunday Mass". The letter called all parishes to plan and celebrate each Sunday Mass in order to deepen the faith-life of all Catholics through the Eucharist. Mother Angelica, the host of a popular program on the Eternal Word Television Network, commented that the pastoral letter was inconsistent with existing official liturgical directives set by the Vatican.

See also

In Spanish: Roger Michael Mahony para niños

Episcopal succession