For all of the evidence of Cardinal Mahony brashly defying legal authorities in Los Angeles after decades of mother-henning priests who abused children and others, stunningly he remains as safe as an infant in a crib.
Going up against the far-reaching muscle of the Catholic Church causes the feet of District Attorney Steve Cooley to sweat.
The Uncool Cooley
The Church has made far better persons than the wimpering D.A. fold up.
This is the most succinct and accurate explanation of why the audacious 73-year-old Cardinal is not in jail and is not likely to go to jail in my lifetime, your lifetime or his.
If Only He Were Protestant
If he were Bishop Mahony of the Pentecostal Church or the Methodist Church, he undoubtedly would be doing hard time.
Those small-time religious institutions dont make Mr. Cooley, or anyone else, quiver. Politically speaking, they have less stature than Lassie.
Along with Mr. Simpsons case, the fearless flaunting of his criminal behavior by Cardinal Mahony comprise two of the remarkable legal outrages of this era.
What Might Have Been
I employ outrage loosely.
It is wishful thinking, not reality.
If good Catholics are outraged, and the Evidence Shelf is empty, they are manifesting it by withdrawing the same way good Muslims have reacted to the savage behavior of youthful Islamic terrorists.
Truly good people do not recoil. Good people fight back. Talkers withdraw or surrender.
Litmus Test
When we see good Catholics in the street protesting the criminal Cardinal and when we see good Muslims in the street protesting Islamic terrorism, only then will there be a chance that meaningful prosecutions can begin.
There is zero chance of a prosecution, however, on the watch of the effete Mr. Cooley.
Damaged Lives
Five hundred and eight people say they were abused on Cardinal Mahonys watch, not 200 years ago by corrosive-minded priests.
The $660 million bribe that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay off last Friday afternoon is an unadulterated admission of guilt, sort of like O.J. saying, Okay, maybe I killed Nicole and Ron a little bit.
Is Anyone Paying Attention?
Where in the world is the outrage?
The unbrave Los Angeles Times, which threw its resources at the Paris Hilton case, which expended towering energy editorializing against Ms. Hilton, is a simpering three-legged pussycat cowering in the corner when it comes to Cardinal Mahony.
What courage?
Easy vs. Hard
As I heard someone say, wisely, on the radio yesterday, it takes no guts to rail against President Bush and the war. You know that he will not come to get you.
It does take guts to complain about the dangerous Muslims at the King Fahad Mosque down Washington Boulevard or about the devious ways of the hometown cardinal of the Catholic Church.
Muslims may come to get you.
So may the Church.
The Game of Protection
When Cardinal Mahony was Bishop of Stockton from 1980 to 85, it is alleged that he protected priests who abused their young parishoners.
In Los Angeles for the last 22 years, it no longer is alleged but documented that the Cardinal followed the identical Stockton-type cover-up pattern here, only on a more egregious basis.
It is not the case that his superiors are protecting a black sheep in the family. Their thinking aligns exactly with his. They play on the same team.
Cooleys Surrender
At several points during a six-year investigation, Mr. Cooley said pretty please to the Cardinal, begging him to turn over records that would show the Cardinal lied and covered for pedophile priests.
No, said the Cardinal said.
Darn, said the D.A.
And the case against the Cardinal went away.
Their Get Out of Jail Cards
He slipped the knot of the law for the same reason Mr. Simpson did he packed the equivalent of an ethnic gun in his briefcase.
Mr. Simpsons getaway was greased by the color of his skin and that of his jurors, which, my golly, happened to coincide.
The Cardinal was made bullet-proof by the historically ingrained fear of the power of the Catholic Church.
