Excerpts of Cardinal Mahony's Online "Chat"

On the Latin Mass
James: I've read that Pope Benedict is concerned about the liturgy and is about to issue a decree that encourages a more generous use of Latin in the liturgy including the use of the Tridentine rite. Do you support this and will you encourage the use of more traditional forms of worship in the archdiocese if he issues the decree?
CardinalMahony: James: of our 5 million Catholics, only a handful are interested in the Latin Mass. I must focus upon the 99% who need a vibrant Mass that includes them in its celebration.

On Refusal to Acknowledge Canon 915
Leonel Martinez: Cardinal Mahony, thank you for providing this forum for discussion. Some have suggested that the American bishops have not followed the wishes of Pope Benedict XVI because they have opted not to uniformly deny communion to Catholic elected officials who support abortion rights. How would you answer them?
CardinalMahony: That is not what our Holy Father is asking. Rather, he is asking that everyone who approaches Holy Communion should make sure he/she is living a life worthy of Jesus in this Sacrament. The burden is on the recipient, not on the minister.

On Woman Priestesses
Moderator: From Denny: Why can only men become priests, and not women?
CardinalMahony: We need to attend Eucharist because we are all members of the Body of Christ, and that Body is incomplete unless we are all there.
CardinalMahony: The moderator has better answers than I do to that question!!!

Dissing William Donohue
Mary Kennedy: As a lifelong Catholic, whenever I see the media look for commentary on Church issues, they seem to call on Mr. Donohue of the Catholic League. Invariably, Mr. Donohue does far more to engender contempt for the Church than anything that the League purports to protect the Church from. Why doesn't the USCCB publicly disavow this and make sure that the news outlets, when looking for the Church's position, actually call upon those who have authority to speak for the Church, such as the public affairs office of the USCCB?
CardinalMahony: Denny: we are following the tradition of the early Church and Jesus' actions. That has become our Tradition for a long time.
CardinalMahony: Actually, our best spokespersons are knowledgeable Catholics at the local levels of the Church, not national figures. We have excellent such folks here in LA.