Cardinal Roger Mahoney revealed to fellow priests that he was assaulted this past July. His announcement came just days before the Los Angeles diocese began mailing out payments in a sexual-abuse settlement.
Mahoney, who did not go to the police about the incident, shared his experience with fellow priests during a conference in October at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, according to a report from the Los Angeles Daily News. Four of the priests present at the conference, which was attended by hundreds more, revealed news of the assault on Monday, the same day the diocese mailed out more than $500 million in checks to some of the 508 recipients of a $660 million settlement in the Catholic priests sexual abuse scandal.
The attack allegedly occurred in July, near the cathedral, while the cardinal was dropping letters into a mailbox. The cardinal said that his attacker recognized him and began shouting expletives and knocked him to the ground, according to the priest who spoke to the Daily News. The priest also reported that Mahoney claimed to have a deeper understanding of the suffering that sex-abuse victims endure as a result of the attack. It took about a month for the cardinal to recover fully. It is not known if the alleged attacker was one of the victims involved in the suit against the church.
Mahoney has not made any public comments about the incident. (The Advocate)
