Cardinal’s sins

Roger Mahony, a cardinal-archbishop, was relieved of public duties for mishandling child sex abuse cases, writes Paul Begala, so why was he allowed to vote for a new pope?

AS THE College of Cardinals met in a secret conclave to select the new pope, thoughtful Catholics are asking why Roger Mahony, the disgraced cardinal-archbishop of Los Angeles, was attending and voting.

His successor, Archbishop José Gomez, has relieved Mahony of all public duties as punishment for mishandling numerous cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy. But apparently the private conclave is not a “public duty”. And not a single cardinal has called for Mahony to be excluded.