# Cardinal Mahoney: God Grant Me The Grace To Forgive My Accusers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 27, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521 "2013-02-27T15:13:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/121 "2013-02-28T02:17:39Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Of course – in fact, someone DID criticize my use of ‘slime,’ and I defended it without rancor. I just posted the definition. The post you were responding to was _clearly_ mocking your tendency towards semantic nitpicking. They weren’t _actually_ taking umbrage and criticizing your use of the word “slime” - they were trying to get you to see how ridiculous your own argument was. > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I would also ask the Bricker describe in what way Cardinal Mahoney is a slime given that he appears to be entirely solid and made of meat. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/122 "2013-02-28T02:18:05Z")
> [@Robb](#): > > **Bricker** , I can’t read the mind of the author of the second comment, but I believe it expressed the sentiment that those poor people who have the audacity to confront the good cardinal about his misdeeds compromise the subset of criminals who aren’t imprisoned, but should be. > **[UK’s Top Cardinal Resigns—Who’s Next?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/uk-top-cardinal-resigns-next-205600524--politics.html)** > > Keith O’Brien’s resignation—amid claims he tried to seduce priests—could be the first in a wave of scandals to plague the coming conclave. Well, hate to admit this, I was thinking of the Brit, Cardinal O’Brien, who resigned under pressure. Cardinals Mahony - O’Brien, these Irish names mix me up. Still, not nearly as many of these evildoers have been jailed as should have been. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/123 "2013-02-28T02:19:53Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You know what would go a long way towards helping you realize that goal? > > Not being an asshole. > > See, you always do this Socratic thing, where you ask a bunch of leading questions. This is the sort of thing that you can get away with in a court of law, or a classroom, but in a conversation between ostensible peers, it makes you sound like an absolutely _titanic_ douche. I know this, because there are times when I want to sound like an absolute titanic douche, and that’s exactly the method I use to achieve that end. > > If you have information relevant to a thread, or a correction to someone else’s post, _just fucking say it._ Just _say_, “The terrible thing about this situation is that there are no laws that are relevant to Mahoney’s actions. There’s nothing we can charge him with, so he’s never going to see the inside of a jail.” That way, you’re adding relevant and interesting information to a thread, without coming across as an aggressive jerk. > > Or you could keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing. How’s that been working out for you? I’m sorry, Miller, but I believe that the general tendency of this board to attack conservatives won’t succumb to any particular mode of behavior short of renouncing conservative principles. And I believe that this hostility bleeds into threads like this, where there are no real political issues in play. Look back over the years, and note how many formerly-active conservatives had simply given up posting here, driven away by the unceasing hostility. Were they all Socractic dialogers? No. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/124 "2013-02-28T02:21:01Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > [UK’s Top Cardinal Resigns—Who’s Next?](http://news.yahoo.com/uk-top-cardinal-resigns-next-205600524--politics.html) > > Well, hate to admit this, I was thinking of the Brit, Cardinal O’Brien, who resigned under pressure. Cardinals Mahony - O’Brien, these Irish names mix me up. > > Still, not nearly as many of these evildoers have been jailed as should have been. True. And thanks for the admission of error – rare indeed in these parts. I appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/125 "2013-02-28T02:24:24Z")
Where do we put them? Stateville Prison, Cell Block C, general population? A baby fucking priest, mixed in with the usual inmates? Maybe they deserve that, not my call to make, way way over my grade…but its one \*hell \*of a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/126 "2013-02-28T02:35:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m sorry, Miller, but I believe that the general tendency of this board to attack conservatives won’t succumb to any particular mode of behavior short of renouncing conservative principles. And I believe that this hostility bleeds into threads like this, where there are no real political issues in play. > > Look back over the years, and note how many formerly-active conservatives had simply given up posting here, driven away by the unceasing hostility. Were they all Socractic dialogers? > > No. How the fuck do you know why they quit posting? You send them a questionnaire after they’ve been gone a while? And, as well, there’s the solid little cadre of buttmunchkins who clearly love that hostility, revel in it, do the best they can to turn the spigot on full blast. Hell, so far as you actually know, they might have just got tired of being publicly wrong, unable to back their opinions with reason and fact. Doesn’t seem to bother you any, but not every body is made of that stern stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/127 "2013-02-28T02:45:33Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > How the fuck do you know why they quit posting? You send them a questionnaire after they’ve been gone a while? > > And, as well, there’s the solid little cadre of buttmunchkins who clearly love that hostility, revel in it, do the best they can to turn the spigot on full blast. > > Hell, so far as you actually know, they might have just got tired of being publicly wrong, unable to back their opinions with reason and fact. Doesn’t seem to bother you any, but not every body is made of that stern stuff. What the fuck is your point exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/128 "2013-02-28T02:46:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m sorry, Miller, but I believe that the general tendency of this board to attack conservatives won’t succumb to any particular mode of behavior short of renouncing conservative principles. And I believe that this hostility bleeds into threads like this, where there are no real political issues in play. > > Look back over the years, and note how many formerly-active conservatives had simply given up posting here, driven away by the unceasing hostility. Were they all Socractic dialogers? > > No. This would be a great response if I’d been telling you what to do to get people to like you. I was, however, responding to this: > [@](#): > > But my hope is that even while people are getting all offended and self-righteous, some part of their mind is reminding them, “Yeah, that’s a fair point. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where we did things that way.” Because people are proud, admissions of that realization rarely materialize. But I’m convinced – or at least hopeful – that they happen. If you want people to internalize that you’ve made a fair point, you’re going to have better luck doing that if you make it in a fair way. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/129 "2013-02-28T03:13:29Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > It never occurred to me until reading this latest apology. > > You were raped by a priest as a young boy weren’t you? > > It’s okay. You don’t have to keep apologizing for them. > > It’s not your fault. So… No one’s going to step in here and opine that this possibly crosses a line? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/130 "2013-02-28T03:14:47Z")
I only need a tu quoque and I win at **BrickerBingo**. I have legalistic nitpicking, whining about poor conservatives being mistreated on the SDMB, self-martyrdom, and semantic games. C’mon tuquoque, Daddy needs a new pair of shoes. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/131 "2013-02-28T03:16:31Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Look back over the years, and note how many formerly-active conservatives had simply given up posting here, driven away by the unceasing hostility. Were they all Socractic dialogers? > > No. You’re right, that’s not the first adjective and noun that come to mind. On preview: yes, **Cartooniverse** is a shrieking idiot. _cf_ moisture content of water. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/132 "2013-02-28T03:22:50Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So… No one’s going to step in here and opine that this possibly crosses a line? [Mod Hat] No. [/Mod Hat] [Poster Hat] Well, yeah, but it’s **Cartooniverse**. What do you expect? [/Poster Hat] ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/133 "2013-02-28T04:05:42Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m sorry, Miller, but I believe that the general tendency of this board to attack conservatives won’t succumb to any particular mode of behavior short of renouncing conservative principles. And I believe that this hostility bleeds into threads like this, where there are no real political issues in play. > > Look back over the years, and note how many formerly-active conservatives had simply given up posting here, driven away by the unceasing hostility. Were they all Socractic dialogers? > > No. In one ear and out the other. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/134 "2013-02-28T04:48:28Z")
just wondering if he is the same Mahoney mentioned over and over in these files protecting paedophiles??? > **[Clergy Files - Archdiocese of Los Angeles](https://clergyfiles.la-archdiocese.org/listing.html)** > > This site is property of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/135 "2013-02-28T04:59:40Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m not sure what one “does” with feelings, other than experience them, Well, some people rant about them, and/or the subject that gives rise to them. > [@Bricker](#): > > and share them as relevant to a discussion. So… I feel them, and as opportunities come up to share them, I do. Really? This entire discussion could be interpreted as one long opportunity to share one’s feelings of distress about the fact that the worst worldly consequence Roger Mahoney can face is to be the object of negative opinion (expressed at varying levels of vituperation), and you didn’t even mention that you had any of those feelings until you were directly asked. Okay, I can appreciate that you found the opportunity to hammer home the point that it _IS_ a fact to be really distracting, but still _"as opportunities come up to share them, I_\* do\*\*?"\* ---
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/136 "2013-02-28T05:01:30Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > just wondering if he is the same Mahoney mentioned over and over in these files protecting paedophiles??? > [Clergy Files - Archdiocese of Los Angeles](http://clergyfiles.la-archdiocese.org/listing.html) Yes. He knew that priests were preying on the parishioners. He gave those priests advice to avoid secular authorities. He spent twenty-some-odd years doing everything in his powers to hide those predators and his actions to protect the predators. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/137 "2013-02-28T05:41:55Z")
> [@Cardinal Mahoney](#): > > In the past several days, I have experienced many examples of being humiliated. Not until you have experienced many examples of being boned up the ass, Your Eminence. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/138 "2013-02-28T05:43:39Z")
> [@Robb](#): > > Yes. He knew that priests were preying on the parishioners. He gave those priests advice to avoid secular authorities. He spent twenty-some-odd years doing everything in his powers to hide those predators and his actions to protect the predators. I just read the one on Leonard Abercrombie, a priest. There’s a letter in there from one of the victims, and he is asking to be excommunicated? Is there some reason behind this? I don’t get why he would care. I can only assume he has faith, because if he was an atheist, he would just tell them to fuck off basically. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/139 "2013-02-28T07:18:57Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > If I were catholic, I’d run away just for this. Show some decency and turn the guy in. Prove you’re not above man’s law. At this point, as far as I’m concerned, everyone in the modern world who’s still a practising Catholic is no different from being a fervent Nazi in 1945 - you _have to_ know you’re a bad guy, that you are completely on the wrong side of history, that your leaders are evil men, that your cause is going down in flames. And yet you persist. I can see two reasons - you’re evil too, or you’re insane. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521/140 "2013-02-28T07:23:36Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > What the fuck is your point exactly? That **Bricker** isn’t a psychic? I do know that one conservative I regularly tangled with quit the Dope because of health issues - being hounded out wasn’t an issue. And I expect that’s not uncommon, as Conservatives skew older. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cardinal-mahoney-god-grant-me-the-grace-to-forgive-my-accusers/651521.md?page=8)