We’ve had our own problems in Philadelphia, but this is pretty low.
Pressed to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony turned to one group of Catholics whose faith could not be shaken: the dead.
Under his leadership in 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles quietly appropriated $115 million from a cemetery maintenance fund and used it to help pay a landmark settlement with molestation victims.
The church did not inform relatives of the deceased that it had taken the money, which amounted to 88% of the fund. Families of those buried in church-owned cemeteries and interred in its mausoleums have contributed to a dedicated account for the perpetual care of graves, crypts and grounds since the 1890s.
Mahony and other church officials also did not mention the cemetery fund in numerous public statements about how the archdiocese planned to cover the $660-million abuse settlement. In detailed presentations to parish groups, the cardinal and his aides said they had cashed in substantial investments to pay the settlement, but they did not disclose that the main asset liquidated was cemetery money.
Sometimes it feels like simply citing this stuff without commentary is anti-Catholic.
Update [2013-2-11 8:53:25 by BooMan]: The pope is resigning.
Sometimes it feels like simply citing this stuff without commentary is anti-Catholic.
No, Mahony is anti-Catholic. Only a scumbag would do stuff like this. As much as Godfather III sucked as a movie, the story it told is looking more plausible by the day.
This is truly a desperate and despicable action. Happy I severed all ties to the Catholic church 4 decades ago. In the last two decades they have experienced innumerable scandals and other fiascos that ordinarily would have put an organization on the road to extinction. However, after attending Catholic grade school, high school, and college, I never underestimate their crafty maneuverings. Now the Catholic hierarchy has aligned itself closely with the GOP, although I don’t know who has the bigger albatross around its neck.
Taking corruption to new levels, it appears – practically an art form with a lot of the Church’s leadership.
Comment grew too large …. my diary Rape in Christ’s Name.
How is that legal, anyway?
I have learned recently from a totally unrelated legal matter in a different state that they can pretty much do whatever they want.
Pope Benedict is resigning!!!! as of Feb 28
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21411304
First Pope to resign since Pope Gregory in 1415. Wonder if that says something about a scandal that’s about to break that’s too big for the Pope.
h/t to Mental Floss for the info
why did Pope Gregory resign? was that the Avignon papacy?
No, it was about 40 years after – during the Western Schism which saw no less than 3 concurrent popes.
Western Schism
(I am in the process of reading The Swerve – How the World Became Modern, the topic is well covered in the beginning chapters where we follow Poggio Bracciolini [papal secretary to John XXIII] after his pope’s resignation as he searches for “lost” manuscripts in monasteries and ends up finding Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura.)
yes, 40 yrs later but ongoing as the Antipope was at Avignon
Very interesting, will look for that book. and speaking of which, maybe this is the onset of Vatican II.1
Why did’t they retire Pope John XXIII’s number?
I received that book as a present recently. I forget if it was a Christmas or birthday present, but I read it about a year ago. A great book.
Well there was a story about a growing conflict in the Vatican pertaining to finances since WWII and Mussolini irrc – read it a couple weeks ago
Wow.
That’s interesting. First time in over 600 years.
I give him credit for this. The world is filled with aged, infirm fossils unable to intellectually and physically cope with the demands of their position. I believe that academics should resign at 70 from university positions. Lauterberg should take notice of this – 85 is too old to perform a high public office.
Hillary and Biden are not too old at this time, on the other hand. They are both vigorous and healthy. That can change quickly in the 60-70 decade of course. But in today’s world, many are quite capable up to the age of 70.
Biden will be 74 in 2016. Is that too old? We’ll see in 2 years. He should run a footrace to show his vigahhh.
Yeah, I heard somewhere that he was planning a long hike on The Appalachian Trail.
you can’t make this stuff up
Crypt robbing?! Nice.
Pope Benedict only confided in his brother before announcing his decision to step down. Due to frail health, the pope was advised not to make long journeys or travel overseas. Looking back, the pope had done some planning in building the College of Cardinals who will elect the new pope. Most likely Benedict XVI will retire to a monastery in his beloved Bavaria. [pdf]
Cross-posted from today’s diary – Rape in Christ’s Name.
It is not anti-Catholic to condemn the actions of the institution of the Church vs its followers. It is necessary that Catholics understand an attack on immoral and criminal actions of its members and institutions is not an attack on them.
Guess we won’t have a Pope praying for us end of the month that sequestration doesn’t lure the R’s in.
There’s something strange about how our airwaves will be simultaneously filled with pictures of people waiting for smoke to come out a chimney indicating a choice inside a Religion while thousands of miles away a State will be debating choice that could certainly involve alot of smoke.
In my lifetime I have gone from the little catholic girl who went to catholic grade school and was so very excited to be making my first communion, which felt like a very holy event…
to not going to catholic church after I got to college, but even then it felt like a very holy event when a new pope was elected, with the holiest of the holy channeling god’s will to elect a new holy pope…
to realizing that electing the pope was not about holiness at all, but instead was about political machinations and exerting power…
to outright disgust with this pope and his hatred of women and disrespect toward nuns…
to hearing this news and immediately thinking that he is stepping down, not because he is no longer able to serve as he should, but instead because he wants to exert power over who succeeds him.
i kind of miss that little girl who felt so holy about being able to take first communion, but we are well rid of this awful, evil pope.
i still believe in god, but the catholic church, as an institution, has completely gone off the rails. jesus would be rolling over in his grave if he were still in one.
I somehow left out “utter disregard for children” in my comment above.
When I was a child, I thought like a child. When I became an adult, I gave up childish things.
For children, the world can be a magical place. For adults, there is still magic but of a very different kind.
Your childhood follows mine pretty much WaterGirl. I spent 11 years in catholic schools but I went a little farther than you into becoming an atheist.
I can’t think of much good of the Catholic Church as an intstitution that is for sure.
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Latin America, Africa in running for next pope
Nigeria’s Arinze (80) is an idiot and too old. Candidates I see as next pope: Peter Turkson (64) from Ghana or Angelo Scola (71) from Venice, Italy. Latin America harbors 42% of world’s Catholics and is certainly candidate with Odilo Scherer (63), archbishop of Sao Paolo, or Italian-Argentine Leonardo Sandri (69). I would see Leonardo Sandri as favorite.