Mahony is a big man in the church: L.A. cardinal makes friends and enemies with equal energy in most varied diocese on earth - Cardinal Roger Mahony - Cover Story - Interview

On Jan. 21, as head of the bishops' pro-life committee, he gave the homily at the National Prayer Vigil for Life in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It was the eve of the Right-to-Life March. Mahony gave a balanced, seamless garment talk. ("On abortion he believes more in winning hearts than the tough-guy confrontational stuff," said a priest friend.) That same week, Washington Cardinal James Hickey's Catholic Standard, despite extensive pro-life coverage, skimped on Mahony's evening homily but not Boston Cardinal Bernard Law's utterances the following morning.

Priests inside

At Palm Springs in 1989, in surroundings that oozed wealth, the cardinal met with his priests. One, Fr. John Kane, told Mahony: "We don't trust you." Mahony had by then been archbishop for four years. Now, four years beyond that, it is not uncommon to hear, "The priests' morale has never been lower."

Both are brutal assessments. Not every priest agrees with them and the range of comments is revealing.

Los Angeles has approximately one priest for every 3,000 Catholics. The archdiocese is 60 percent Hispanic. Only 22 percent of the priests (about 300) are Latino, though nearly 50 percent of the current 402 seminarians are Latino. Los Angeles has eight black priests.

"Morale was zero before Roger," said one priest. "Los Angeles" priests were demoralized under McIntyre and under Manning, so nothing has changed."

An inner city priest contended that "any priest's morale depends on the day you ask him and what's happening in his life. It's pretty subjective. I know a lot of guys whose morale is pretty high - dedicated to working as priests and realizing we can make progress here. And the cardinal's into some good things.

"I think what the cardinal's trying to do more and more [is what] he said at Palm Springs, that it's time for us all to take responsibility for our own parishes and our own lives, that the old thing of blaming the chancery or the archbishop for difficulties is gone."

How does Mahony deal with his "brother priests?

At one level, by having them to dinner. Shortly after he arrived, he began inviting the oldest priests first and working down to the newest, then repeating the cycle. Each week, usually, eight or 10 priests come down to St. Vibiana's rectory. An hour for drinks beforehand, a simple catered meal, everyone relaxed in sports clothes, much small talk. Most call him "Roger," none of the "eminence" bit. So, he's probably met most of his priests this way three or four times.

Next, as at Palm Springs, he stands up and takes it. Even if it is feigned listening, as some critics suggest, it's gutsy to go knowing what might be.

One priest remarked that even priests "who bitch a lot" don't necessarily tackle him. "They get the chance to confront him, then chicken out."

As plans were being made for an October Los Angeles priests' assembly, Mahony expressed the belief that "we are in a very different place this year than we were at the last assembly. The last one, I think, was really more directed toward the leadership of the archdiocese: "What are you doing and what are you going to do for me?" That's not the situation today; it is: "What are we going to do about our ministry and our local church; and what are we to take responsibility for?"