Roger Mahony
Roger Michael Mahony 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.
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 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
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. Mahony terminated two extern priests for sexual abuse during his tenure at Stockton.In 1980, shortly after Mahony became Bishop of Stockton, a parent wrote to the diocese accusing the Fr Oliver O'Grady of molesting his two sons. Mahony in 1982 then transferred O'Grady to another parish. Soon more accusations arose from the new parish. In 1984, the local police closed an investigation into O'Grady after a diocesan lawyer promised to keep him away from children. In December 1984, despite the earlier promise, Mahony transferred O'Grady to another parish.
In 1998, Mahony, then Archbishop of Los Angeles, returned to Stockton to testify in a civil trial against the diocese. A jury later awarded $30 million in damages to two of O'Grady's victims.
Archbishop of Los Angeles and Cardinal-Priest
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.The 1994 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 to the seminary during the 1940s and 1950s. It included a Gutenberg Bible and a first edition of the 1885 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Mahony cited the financial needs of the archdiocese and the high cost of insuring the collection as the reasons for its sale. The proceeds were intended to fund an endowment for training new priests.
The Doheny 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 at the rectory in St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood.
On January 31, 2013, Gómez relieved Mahony of all of his remaining public and administrative duties due to his actions during the Church's sexual abuse crisis. 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. On September 16, 2018, during a mass, demonstrators gathered in front of St. Charles to protest Mahony's involvement in the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal.Mahony in November 2024 condemned the Trump Administration's plan to deport massive numbers of undocumented immigrants from the United States.
In April 2025, after the death of Pope Francis, Mahony traveled to Rome and participated in the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin as the most senior Cardinal-priest able to travel.
Other offices
- Board member, Catholic University of America
- Member, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committees on Liturgy, Pro-Life Activities, and Migration & Refugees
- Member, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
- Member, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants
- Member, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
- Member, Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
- Member, Congregation for Eastern Churches
Viewpoints
Abortion
In 2021, Mahony criticized “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church”, a resolution proposed in the USCCB. The resolution called on bishops to ban from all Catholic public officials from receiving the eucharist who supported abortion rights for women. Mahony stated,“First of all, we are a democratic republic. Our country’s path is one of separation of church and state. And so, it’s a very difficult position for politicians, Catholics, who are pressured by some in the Church to make all of the decisions based on Catholic Church doctrine.”