A man protesting the Los Angeles Archdiocese's handling of the clergy sexual abuse scandal was arrested Sunday after he handcuffed himself to the chair used by Cardinal Roger Mahony during 10 a.m. Mass.
The incident happened while Mahony was standing a few feet away at the altar and had just delivered a homily to 2,500 congregants about how the archdiocese is dealing with the controversy.
The protester, James C. Robertson, 58, of Mount Washington, was part of a group of about 200 victims and their supporters who had demonstrated outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels by tying crime scene tape around themselves and the church's perimeter.
Church protest -- An article in Monday's California section about a man who handcuffed himself to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony's chair during Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels stated that the man said he had been sexually abused by two priests at his Glendale high school. In fact, the man, James C. Robertson, says he was molested by two Catholic brothers at a high school in Gardena.
The protesters -- from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP -- staged the demonstration to commemorate clergy sex abuse victims who have committed suicide and to demand the archdiocese release all the names of clergy who molested children over the years. Leaders of the group said they neither authorized nor had prior knowledge of Robertson's actions.
The archdiocese has released the names of 211 of the 244 priests identified as accused abusers. Mahony has declined to name the remaining 33 priests because they have requested protection under privacy laws.
During his homily Sunday, Mahony talked about the archdiocese's efforts to train church staff and clergy about abuse prevention and about other safeguards they have implemented.
"This will continue forever, and it's wonderful to put these efforts in place," Mahony told the congregation.
Robertson, who was sitting in a pew near the altar, got up and handcuffed himself to the back of Mahony's chair, also known as the Bishop's Chair or the Cathedra.
The Mass continued without interruption as security guards surrounded Robertson, who stood expressionless while churchgoers received communion.
As congregants filed out after Mass, a few shook Robertson's hand and chatted with him. Several others snapped photographs of him with their cellphones or cameras. One man said to Robertson, "Don't you dare scratch that throne."
After congregants left, about a dozen police officers arrested Robertson at the request of church officials.
Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said church authorities sought Robertson's arrest because "we owe it to the people who come to the cathedral and to the Mass.
