Just when you thought he was going away quietly …

Sources say that disgraced Cardinal Roger Mahony is embarking on a “mandatory attendence” PR campaign to convince local priests that he’s the good guy in cases of dozens of clerics who sexually abused hundreds of children during his tenure as Archbishop of Los Angeles.

Although this information has not been confirmed with the Archdiocese (they really don’t like to return my phone calls), we are hearing that Mahony has (allegedly) scheduled meetings in each of the pastoral regions in Los Angeles. All priests in the region will be required to attend the meetings, where Mahony is slated to discuss the recent conclave and his role in the management of sex offending priests.

Considering that Mahony’s blog and Twitter feed discuss how he’s being scape-goated, and how he is big enough to pray for all of those nasty folks who dare protest him, I sincerely doubt he will be answering the “tough questions.” Or any questions at all, for that matter.

“But wait?” you ask. “Isn’t Mahony suspended from public duties?”

Hardly. Even though Archbishop Gomez said that Bishop Curry and Cardinal Mahony would have no public duties in the Archdiocese, a spokesperson quickly back-pedaled. Curry and Mahony are “priests in good standing,” according to the statement, “with full rights to celebrate the Holy Sacraments of the Church and to minister to the faithful without restriction.”

So priests will (allegedly) be forced to sit silently and listen to Mahony, who, documents now show, has criminal culpability in the cover-up of dozens of sex crimes in the Archdiocese. I am doubting that atonement and accountability will be a part of the message.

“But wait?” you ask again. “Didn’t Pope Francis JUST say that ‘hypocrisy undermines the Church’s credibilty’?”

Mahony’s been personally undermining the Church’s credibility for decades. Why should he suddenly change course now?

I will update when I have more information.