Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who was accused of covering up cases of abuse as archbishop of Los Angeles, will have an official role in the ceremonies around Francis’ funeral.

Cardinal Roger Mahony has repeatedly apologized for his handling of clerical sexual abuse in Los Angeles. In 2013, internal church records revealed that he and his vicar for clergy failed to remove priests accused of abuse and cooperate with law enforcement in the 1980s.

Pope Francis had a learning curve on clergy sexual abuse, with the turning point coming in 2018. Few people could have predicted that a comment he made then, dismissing victims of Chile's most notorious pedophile,