Cardinal Roger Mahony, who will travel to Rome to help select a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, reacted today to news that the pope would resign Feb. 28 due to his health.
(Flickr/Sergey Gabdurakhamoanov)
“Surely one of his great legacies will be a continuing emphasis on the need for all Catholics to exercise their role as evangelizers in the world. His focus upon the new evangelization will continue to enliven all disciples of Jesus,” Mahony stated.
As a member of the College of Cardinals, Mahony recalled the April 2005 conclave in which the 85-year-old German-born pope was elected.
“I recall so clearly his words when he told the cardinals that he was choosing the name Benedict because of his fondness for the prayerfulness and the Rule of St. Benedict, and also because Pope Benedict XV (1914-1920) served during a time of turmoil and wars across the world,” Mahony stated.
The pope, who cited failing strength of mind and body, would become the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to resign from the lifelong appointment in about 600 years.
He appointed 67 of the 118 cardinals who will pick a successor, who needs two-thirds approval to be elected pope.
Mahony said he looked forward to thanking the pope in person “and to participate in the conclave to elect his successor.”
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Pope Benedict made several apologies to victims who were sexually abused by clerics, etc, within the Catholic church. Yet to this day, he has taken no decisive actions to punish any high ranking church official for enabling, empowering, and covering up sex crimes against innocent kids.
Many should have been fired. Just to name a few..
–Cardinal Law, who was given a plush job in the Vatican, is still in that high ranking position
–Bishop Finn, who is a convicted criminal is still the bishop of the KC-St Joe diocese
–Cardinal Mahony, horrific cover up of sex crimes per thousands of recently released LA archdiocese secret documents, he is still a cardinal.
We hope there is someone within the college of cardinals who could be a pope with integrity, who will start to take immediate actions to stop these crimes against humanity.
Children are safest when child predators and those who enable and conceal their crimes are held responsible.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511. snapjudy@gmail.com,
“SNAP (The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word priest in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, teachers, Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like orphanages, summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc.”