Roger Michael Cardinal Mahony was born on February 27,1936 and is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011.
31 Facts About Roger Mahony
2.
Roger Mahony was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in January 1975 and consecrated bishop in March 1975.
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In 2011, Roger Mahony reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops and was succeeded by Jose Horacio Gomez on March 1.
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Roger Mahony was born in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, the son of Victor and Loretta Mahony, a second-generation Irish American couple.
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Roger Mahony has a twin brother, Louis, and an older brother, Neil.
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Roger Mahony graduated from Catholic University of America in 1964 with a Master of Social Work degree.
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Roger Mahony taught social work at Fresno State University in Fresno, California.
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On January 7,1975, Roger Mahony was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Fresno, California and titular bishop of Tamascani by Pope Paul VI.
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Roger Mahony received his episcopal consecration on March 19,1975, from Bishop Hugh Donohue, with Bishops William Johnson and John Cummins as co-consecrators.
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On February 15,1980, Roger Mahony was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Stockton by Pope John Paul II, as announced by the nuncio, Jean Jadot.
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On July 16,1985, Roger Mahony was appointed as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the first Angeleno to hold the office.
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Roger Mahony was created Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of June 28,1991.
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In 1987, Roger Mahony presided over the controversial auction of an extensive collection of rare books, including a Gutenberg Bible, donated to St John's Seminary by philanthropist and book collector Carrie Estelle Doheny.
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In May 1998, Roger Mahony announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
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Roger Mahony underwent a prostatectomy on June 15,1998; doctors at the time indicated that the surgery was "successful" and were optimistic that he would not require additional treatment.
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Roger Mahony was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI, as well as the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.
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Roger Mahony was a board member of the Catholic University of America.
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Roger Mahony is still a consultant for the latter two committees.
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Roger Mahony was a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, and the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
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In 1992, Roger Mahony published a pastoral letter Film Makers, Film Viewers on the topic of television news and the entertainment industry.
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Roger Mahony spoke out on provisions in immigration bills, such as the Sensenbrenner-King Bill, debated by Congress in late 2005 and 2006.
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Roger Mahony wrote to President George W Bush that certain proposed measures would effectively outlaw the provision of charitable assistance and religious ministry to individuals not in valid immigration status.
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Roger Mahony personally lobbied US Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to have the Senate consider a comprehensive immigration reform bill, rather than the enforcement-only bill that passed the House of Representatives.
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Roger Mahony defended the expense of the new cathedral to replace the previous earthquake-damaged Cathedral of Saint Vibiana citing the need for a community to have a mother church and religious center that unites people in faith and spirituality.
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In 1980, shortly after Roger Mahony became Bishop of Stockton, California, a parent wrote to the diocese accusing Father Oliver O'Grady, a priest of the diocese, of molesting his two sons.
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Roger Mahony had O'Grady transferred to another parish in 1982, where more abuse accusations followed.
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Roger Mahony was promoted to Archbishop of Los Angeles the following year.
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In 1998, Roger Mahony testified in a civil trial against the Diocese of Stockton, in which a jury awarded $30 million to two of O'Grady's victims.
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Roger Mahony described the abuse as a "terrible sin and crime".
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At the time, Roger Mahony wrote the director of a New Mexico treatment center, seeking to prevent accused priests from returning to the archdiocese.
31.
In February 2020, Roger Mahony was named as a defendant in a lawsuit where he was accused of shielding convicted ex-priest Michael Baker.