If you thought Roger Mahony being stripped of his “duties” was a cop out intended to make you think the church was doing something regarding past priest abuse and the Cardinal's strategy to transfer bad clergy away from the prying eyes of the law, you're probably right.

It was a mild, public slap in the face (and Mahony responded by slapping back, if you'll recall). Now the disgraced former leader of the L.A. Archdiocese is rubbing it in your face:

He gets to go to Rome and vote on the next pope. Yep, he even blogged about the honor today.

Stripped of administrative and public duties? Doody.

Today he gave a shout out to retiring Pope Pope Benedict XVI Mahony and notes he had a say in his crowning (or whatever they call it):

It was my privilege to participate in the Conclave of April 2005 when Pope Benedict was elected.

At the bottom of his blog post, Mahony hits you with the gold-ring hand:

I look forward to traveling to Rome soon to help thank Pope Benedict XVI for his gifted service to the Church, and to participate in the Conclave to elect his successor.

Going to Rome? After church documents show he essentially strategized to hide priests accused of unspeakable sex acts against children? After the L.A. District Attorney's office said it would review the church's files to see if there might be a case against certain church officials?

Heading to Italy? Wouldn't law enforcement officials be concerned that during a D.A. criminal review Mahony is leaving the country?

Just sayin.'

See a statement from Judy Jones of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) at the bottom of the comments section below.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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