About Roger Mahony
Roger Michael Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American Catholic retired prelate who served as archbishop of Los Angeles in California from 1985 to 2011. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California from 1975 to 1980 and bishop of the Diocese of Stockton in California 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. Mahony has also been identified as a key figure in the cover-up of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, where dozens of abusive priests were moved to other churches rather than prosecuted. In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles apologized for abuses by priests and announced a record-breaking settlement of $660 million for 508 victims. In 2011, Mahony reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops and was succeeded by Archbishop José H. Gómez on March 1. On January 31, 2013, Gómez relieved Mahony of his public and episcopal duties in the archdiocese, following the release of personnel files documenting priests' sexual abuse during Mahony's tenure. A jury later awarded $30 million in damages to two of O'Grady's victims.
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