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Ex-SF Archbishop: Cardinal Tainted In Sex Abuse Scandal Should Help Select New Pope

MENLO PARK (CBS/AP) - A prominent member of the US Catholic hierarchy who will take part in the selection of the next pope said Monday retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony should also participate in the process.

Cardinal William Levada made the comments at a Menlo Park seminary ahead of his trip to the Vatican to help with the selection of the next pope.

The comments from Levada, the former Archbishop of San Francisco, came in the wake of a grass-roots campaign to shame Mahony into refraining from participating because of his role protecting sexually abusive priests. Mahony has been shown to have covered up for other priests who raped and molested children.

Mahony has said he would participate in the voting for the new pope.

Levada also said he has no problem with a decision by Pope Benedict to not release an investigation into Vatican leaks to the cardinals prior to the gathering to select the next Pope.

Ex-SF Archbishop: Cardinal Tainted In Sex Abuse Scandal Should Help Select New Pope

Levada was scheduled to leave for the Vatican on Tuesday. He said he will look for a man of faith who has shown leadership ability and has language skills to serve as the next pope.

It's helpful for the pope to have some linguistic ability because he's dealing with so many people around the world on a daily basis, Levada said.

"I don't know what the Las Vegas odds makers are saying today, I hear it changes every day," he said. "I don't think it's likely that we would see an American pope. It would be an additional complexity for an American pope to have to deal with the perception that some of his decisions might be perceived to be dictated by American governmental policy."

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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