Mahony takes some questions

Chris Weinkopf at the Daily News opinion blog gets Cardinal Roger Mahony on the phone. Sample:

I pressed him further: What is he taking responsibility for? What specifically did he do wrong?

That's not the issue ... for victims, they just need the official voice of the archbishop to say whatever happened to you shouldn't have happened. It's sinful, it's wrong, and I apologize.... I'm sorry what happened to you in the life of the church, and I apologize....

I tried to stress the difference between "I'm sorry about what's happened to you" versus "I'm sorry for what I have done." Isn't there an important difference between the two?

That's true, but that's not what (victims are) looking for. They would love to meet the offender and hear him say that. They're looking for an apology from the Church.

What about the victims who say his apology is inadequate?

I'm sorry, I really am. We'll continue to work closely with the victims. I've arranged that this morning again. Victims are all in a tad different place on their journey. Some are doing really very well, some have had good counseling and are very independent.... Some less so. Some are still having trouble. I don't expect everybody to say this is great....

Mahony sat quietly at this morning's court hearing where the Archdiocese formally agreed to a $660 million settlement with abuse victims.

Also: Yeah, it appears the Daily News is taking some heat for killing ten comic strips. Another newspaper tries to package less as more and wonders where the readers are going.