LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles says he will help elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who suddenly announced that he's resigning.
Mahony says in a statement Monday that he is looking forward to traveling to Rome to participate in the conclave that will choose the next pope.
Mahony also participated in the conclave that elected Benedict in 2005. He says Benedict was an "extraordinary successor to St. Peter" and the church will continue to be blessed by his prayers and writings.
Mahony is the former head of the Los Angeles archdiocese, where he has been barred from public duties by the current archbishop because of revelations about his past handling of clergy pedophile cases. But Mahony otherwise remains in good standing as archbishop emeritus.
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