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"A US Catholic group has called for an American cardinal accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests not to take part in electing a new pope, saying he would taint the new pontiff with the same scandal that dogged Pope Benedict XVI.
As of Tuesday, the group Catholics United had gathered more than 5,000 signatures against Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles until 2011.
"Please do not bring further scandal to our Church that has already been rocked by the sex abuse crisis by attending the
Papal Conclave. You have been disciplined and you have lost your ability to have a voice within our Church," said the petition from the Washington-based group.
The campaign gained momentum when Italy's best-selling magazine Famiglia Cristiana - "Christian Family" - asked its readers whether Mahony should attend the conclave that elects a successor to Benedict next month.
The overwhelming answer to the popular weekly magazine's survey was "no".
"No, he must not participate, for the good of the Church," wrote Superemme, in a typical response among hundreds on Famiglia Cristiana's website.
'Conscience decision'
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Vatican journalist Alessandro Speciale said it is up to Mahony to examine his "conscience" and decide if he wants to participate in the conclave.
"The Vatican constitution that regulates the election of a new pope is very clear that no one who has the right to elect the pope can be excluded from his right," Speciale said. "The church is very steep in its tradition."
But Speciale also acknowledged that it was "disastrous" for the church hierarchy to have to answer to the scandal at a critical time, when it is choosing a new leader.
As archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985, Mahony worked to send priests known to be abusers out of state to shield them from law enforcement scrutiny in the 1980s, according to church files unsealed under a US court order last month."
"A US Catholic group has called for an American cardinal accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests not to take part in electing a new pope, saying he would taint the new pontiff with the same scandal that dogged Pope Benedict XVI.
As of Tuesday, the group Catholics United had gathered more than 5,000 signatures against Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles until 2011.
"Please do not bring further scandal to our Church that has already been rocked by the sex abuse crisis by attending the
Papal Conclave. You have been disciplined and you have lost your ability to have a voice within our Church," said the petition from the Washington-based group.
The campaign gained momentum when Italy's best-selling magazine Famiglia Cristiana - "Christian Family" - asked its readers whether Mahony should attend the conclave that elects a successor to Benedict next month.
The overwhelming answer to the popular weekly magazine's survey was "no".
"No, he must not participate, for the good of the Church," wrote Superemme, in a typical response among hundreds on Famiglia Cristiana's website.
'Conscience decision'
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Vatican journalist Alessandro Speciale said it is up to Mahony to examine his "conscience" and decide if he wants to participate in the conclave.
"The Vatican constitution that regulates the election of a new pope is very clear that no one who has the right to elect the pope can be excluded from his right," Speciale said. "The church is very steep in its tradition."
But Speciale also acknowledged that it was "disastrous" for the church hierarchy to have to answer to the scandal at a critical time, when it is choosing a new leader.
As archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985, Mahony worked to send priests known to be abusers out of state to shield them from law enforcement scrutiny in the 1980s, according to church files unsealed under a US court order last month."