Roger Mahony Cleric

Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment as Los Angeles archbishop, he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno from 1975 to 1980 and as Bishop of Stockton from 1980 to 1985.Born in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles and raised in the city's San Fernando Valley area, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno in 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in January 1975 and consecrated bishop in March 1975. He was then appointed Bishop of Stockton in 1980. In 1985, Mahony was appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles by John Paul II'>Pope John Paul II, and became the first Los Angeles native to hold the office. He was created a cardinal in 1991 by John Paul II'>Pope John Paul II, and as such 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. He has also been an instrumental figure in working to resolve the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, dismissing a dozen priests in 2002, developing new policies to prevent abuse, making a formal apology and issuing a report that described cases in detail. In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles apologized for abuses by priests and announced its record-breaking settlement with 508 victims worth $660 million.In 2011 Mahony reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops in 2011 and was succeeded by José Horacio Gómez on March 1, 2011. On January 31, 2013, Archbishop Gómez relieved Mahony of his public and episcopal duties in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, following the release of personnel files documenting priest sexual-abuse cases during part of Mahony's tenure.