Amid calls to recuse himself from the upcoming conclave because of his record on clergy sex abuse, Cardinal Roger Mahony said that the Vatican, acting through its ambassador to the United States, had instructed him to take part in the election of the next pope.

Oh, so it’s not his decision. It’s the Vatican that said he should be there. Because when I think obedience I think Cardinal Mahony, don’t you?

My issue isn’t about him being at the conclave. This is about him constantly pointing the finger at others about his decisions. This reminds me of a recent public letter he wrote taking a shot at Archbishop Gomez.

He began that one by saying, “I have been encouraged by others to publish it, so I am do so on my personal Blog. I hope you find it useful.” So it wasn’t his fault he published an attack on Abp. Gomez. He just did it because others encouraged him to do so.

Uhm. This would seem to be a habit. When confronted with a difficult decision, Cardinal Mahony points fingers and says, “They made me do it” or someone else said he should.

In fact, when one looks at what he said about how he handled the sex abuse scandal in his diocese, he didn’t say he did the right thing he just said it’s what everyone else did at the time.

Cardinal Mahony has a disturbing habit of absorbing praise and deflecting responsibility.

*subhead*Deflect.*subhead*