Molestation charge aimed at troubled L.A. cardinal

FRESNO, Calif. -- Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, already under fire for his handling of sexual abuse allegations in the nation's largest Catholic archdiocese, revealed he has been accused of molesting a high school student and strongly denied the allegation.

Flora Mae Hickman, 51, of Fresno, claims she was molested by Mahony while a student at San Joaquin Memorial Catholic High School in 1970. But contacted Saturday, Hickman offered no details of what she claims Mahony actually did.

Mahony revealed the accusation and his denial in a three-page statement on Friday night.

"My personal integrity and reputation demand that I take all possible steps to refute this false allegation," Mahony said.

He issued the statement after a Los Angeles radio station obtained and quoted from church e-mails about abuse cases that refer briefly to the woman's claim, which she first made to the pastor of St. John's Cathedral in Fresno on March 20.

Hickman said in an interview Saturday she was knocked unconscious while fighting with students and woke to find the "bottom" portion of her clothing removed and Mahony, then a monsignor in Fresno, "over her."

Hickman also said she is taking medication for depression and has been told by a psychiatrist that she is a paranoid schizophrenic. She said she could not remember many details of what happened.

Lt. Keith Foster of the Fresno Police Department confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that an investigation was under way. Mahony said he was cooperating with police.

On Thursday, confidential e-mails between Mahony and his staff, including his lawyers, were obtained by radio station KFI. The e-mails contained numerous references to the sexual abuse scandal and Mahony's concerns about the way the archdiocese was responding to it.

Despite saying she could not remember details, Hickman insisted Saturday the charges are true and that the incident caused her to lose her faith.

"I'm not making this up. I know this is a serious allegation. This has been eating at me. I did call police when I was out of high school. They didn't believe me," she said.

Mahony, 66, became the head of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1985 and was elevated to Cardinal in 1991.

Concern in e-mails

The internal e-mails he wrote during the past two weeks reveal his concerns over the church's response to sexual abuse allegations in the archdiocese, which serves 5 million Catholics in three Southern California counties.

Los Angeles police have said they are investigating reports that the diocese has removed six to 12 priests accused of sexual abuse in cases dating as far back as 10 years.

The e-mails suggest the number of priest notes is eight. In one e-mail, Mahony wrote that the archdiocese erred in failing to turn over the names of three of those priests to police.

"It was a huge mistake on our part," Mahony wrote on March 27 to his attorney, Sister Judith Ann Murphy. "If we don't, today, 'consult' with the detective about those three names, I can guarantee you that I will get hauled into a grand jury proceeding and I will be forced to give all the names, etc."

The names of the priests have now been turned over to police.