Catholic Vote Calls For Cardinal Mahony To Withdraw From Papal Conclave

Catholic Vote, where NOM's "cultural affairs director" Thomas Peters occasionally blogs, today posted a call for pedophile-shielding Cardinal Roger Mahony to withdraw from the coming papal conclave.  The post notes the "credible accusations" made against British Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who yesterday resigned, and urges Mahony to follow O'Brien's example. Tom Crowe writes:

I’ll not get into the moral balancing act of “which action is worse, inappropriate advances toward seminarians and other priests or shielding an abuser,” because neither is remotely acceptable, or even rationalize-able-because-of-the-times, conduct for a prelate. But if O’Brien so quickly and simply removes himself out of a desire to protect the Church from the taint of his involvement, why cannot Mahony see the virtue in that action also? To be sure, Mahony has the right to attend the conclave as a cardinal of the Church younger than 80 years old, and I have defended that right to others who think he ought not have that right. But having a right to do something and exercising that right are different things.

RELATED: NOM has three times cited O'Brien's campaign against same-sex marriage in Britain, but remains silent on the current scandal.