Incomplete Chapter:  Incomplete Confessions

After reading Davis’ chapter “New Confessions,” one is left wondering why this chapter seems so outdated.  Why had Davis not added more recent information?  We never find out what happens to Fr. Olivares from “La Placita” Parish.  Furthermore, what has become of the sanctuary movement?  Where does Cardinal Mahoney stand in the rights of illegal “aliens” and on liberation theology and Latinos leaving the church for protestant Pentecostal churches?  With the 60 billion dollar settlement for the victims of sex abuse in the LA diocese, what is Mahoney’s plan now and his thoughts on O’Grady and the movie, “Deliver Us from Evil”?  Perhaps Davis has no clear means to present more information about the church in Los Angeles since recent developments in many ways contradict his earlier findings.

            The first major piece of information that Davis left out of his chapter on religion, “New Confessions,” is the death of Fr. Olivares.  He was the pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, better known as La Placita where Latino immigrants—legal and illegal—flocked to for Latino style Catholicism and sanctuary from the INS (Davis 356).  While Mahoney showed tolerance toward Olivares and his “liberation theology” messages, the former seemed to take up the immigrant causes as well, with his Latin Aid Plan and other measures (Davis 343).

            According to the LA Times, Olivares contracted the AIDS virus and lived out his days at La Placita.  He was supposed to be transferred to Texas by his Claretian Order but when he contracted the disease, he was allowed to retire at his beloved Placita.  While Olivares was infected with the disease from contaminated needles he used in El Salvador to treat diabetes, he made a broader statement to “let people know that anybody can get this disease and not to abandon those who happen to get it, regardless of how they contracted it” (Hernandez, LA Times, July 26, 1990).  So Olivares continued to live out the Gospel—at least how he saw it.  Mahoney, on the other hand, was probably relieved to finally be getting rid of the thorn Olivares.

            In fact, when Olivares died in 1993, Mahoney did not even attend his funeral.  He seemed to have remained isolated from anything or anyone too radical for Roman politics—including celebrating Olivares’ dedication and commitment to Los Angeles’ Latino community.  While Cesar Chavez, Martin Sheen, and other dignitaries attended the funeral, Mahoney merely issued a statement, saying “[Olivares] fed the hungry, welcomed and sheltered the homeless and the stranger in our midst, instructed the ignorant and revered the dignity of every human person” (Fox, National Catholic Reporter April 2, 1993).

            According to Fox, Olivares estimated that 11,000 people attended mass every Sunday at La Placita.  More than 200 babies were baptized each week and priests heard over 80 hours of confessions (Fox NCR April 2, 1993).  So the question is if Olivares only cared about liberation theology as some claimed, why would he say mass and administer the sacraments to so many people each week?  Also there is the question of why Olivares did not have his funeral mass in his home parish and was instead celebrated and buried at The Mission of San Gabriel outside the city center.  According to Fox some people saw a conspiracy to “silence” Olivares even in death, by keeping him out of his beloved parish of La Placita (NCR, April 2, 1993).

            We have to wonder why Davis has not updated his information about Olivares.  While he at times made fun of Olivares by making fun of his liberation theology or calling assistant “commandante” or the picture of Zapata above his desk, Davis reduces the importance of Olivares and would now have to change his tone about Olivares since he is dead and now considered a saint by some.

While Davis did not complete the Olivares story, he also did not finish the sex abuse scandal in California. Instead of taking action against former priest Oliver O’Grady, Mahoney merely followed the tradition of transferring the abusive priest.  But O’Grady continued to get into trouble, molesting children in each parish he served in (Griffin, Johnston, CNN, June 27, 2006).  According to the article in which the reporters interview O’Grady in reference to the film “Deliver Us from Evil,” O’Grady claims the church—i.e. Mahoney—knew that O’Grady was molesting children and looked the other way.  He was moved from parish to parish instead of being removed from the priesthood.  Church leaders like Mahoney tried at first to argue that the Church had no obligation to cooperate and that the allegations were private matters.  Later, however, Mahoney stated that he was mistaken about the nature of pedophilia.  He believed that offenders like O’Grady, once confronted, would not commit future offenses.  O’Grady did eventually serve seven years in prison and has since been deported to his native Ireland, where he is a free man.  Meanwhile the Archdiocese of Los Angeles called the film an “obvious anti-Church piece.”  Spokesperson Tod Tamberg told CNN that the film is “based on anti-Church assertions by plaintiff’s attorneys who stand to gain financially and on the self-serving comments of former priest O’Grady, a sick, twisted monster and, like most molesters, a master manipulator.”  Tamberg goes so far as to claim that O’Grady was the master manipulator, taking advantage of his victim, authorities in the Church like Mahoney, and last the filmmakers (Griffin, Johnston, CNN, June 27, 2006). 

Here Davis misses an opportunity to further expose the moral dilemmas and enigma of Mahoney:  power broker, believer in rights for illegal aliens, yet anti-union and negligent in the O’Grady case, with one foot in Southern California and the other in Papal Rome.  But what has become of La Placita?  And is Davis correct in thinking the Catholic Church is losing out to Pentecostal protestant churches?

A new pastor has entered La Placita.  His name is Father Gallo, and according to Latino Catholics, he is trying to “stamp out Mexican religious traditions” that have dominated the parish for 200 years.  While the parish used to perform 800 baptisms per week, a new rule has been instigated saying that the home parish must give written consent so that the baptism can take place in La Placita.  The Mexican Catholic Action Youth has been eliminated.  Even the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe have been welcomed coolly by Fr. Gallo (Fierro, Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission).

            Gallo wants to downplay La Placita as a shrine and got rid of devotional literature in the Church bookstore.  The shrine/grotto of Santo Nino de Atocha  supposedly protects young children and used to draw huge crowds and devotions.

            The consequences of Gallo’s actions might be to drive Latin Catholics to other parishes or denominations.  But according to Fierro, poor Latin Catholics will not go to the Cathedral where they say that the rich, “fat cats” go.  They feel out of place and out of touch with God.  They prefer the symbols and colors of their upbringing.  So while Latin Catholics may not go to the Cathedral with Mahoney, they may be seeking other refuges like Pentecostal rites (“Storefront ‘Catholic’ Churches Draw Latinos” 2-7).

So, some people might conclude, as Davis does (343,) that Latin Catholics might leave the Catholic Church for more Pentecostal churches.  Davis thinks as much.  However, according to Fierro, this is not so.  The latest phenomenon in Los Angeles is a new independent “Catholic” orthodox movement, with lots of incense and storefront churches on streets like Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park.  These chapels are sprouting in stores and even swap meets—wherever there are Latin Catholics.  The “priests” are almost always former Catholic priests who usually just left the church to get married.  People get remarried, have their children remarried without “papers” from another church, and even celebrate quinceaneras, which celebrates the Latin girl’s 15^th birthday.   There is no red tape like in the regular Catholic churches ( 2).

            So while Mahoney continues to be attacked from the left and right, he stays quiet and perhaps with his heart in Papal Rome.  Mahoney has had accomplishments and maybe that is enough for him.  He is more interested in Rome and keeping Rome appeased than in making any further name for himself in LA circles—other than his stand on illegal immigration.  He knows he can stay out of trouble because John Paul II was also outspoken regarding the poor and disenfranchised. 

            But what of Davis?  You could say a Marxist is more interested in other political and monetary issues like real estate in LA than in religion.  Davis has in some ways written off religion in LA while he has also admitted how much property the Church controls in LA.  More likely, there are too many other issues for Davis to research like literature, films, transportation, suburbs, gated communities, security systems, gangs, architecture-- and one he seems very interested in--photography of LA.

            May be Davis feels the themes he presented in New Confessions have not changed.  That is where honest disagreement begins.  He may have misjudged Olivares, and even Mahoney.  Regarding Latinos turning Pentecostal, I think Davis is wrong.  In fact a new spiritual orthodox faith seems to be reemerging after the death of Olivares and suppression of Latin American symbols, practices, and traditions.  Perhaps the free market of LA has brought about other churches, remotely “Catholic” which have filled the gap after the repression by Gallo at La Placita.  Perhaps Davis does not understand that Latinos are not necessarily prone to be Pentecostals but simply what to preserve their ethnic, political, and religious past which cannot be divided into parts.  The Mexican flag next to the portrait of the Virgin Mary is normal and does not make Mary into a political figure.  Yes, we know Olivares liked the media attention on his church and his causes.  But who else could focus attention of inner city LA?  A few departments at USC and UCLA and they are written off as ivory tower academics.  Davis after all finishes off City of Quartz in Fontana, hardly considering the plight of downtown.  Perhaps Davis could not bring his focus back to downtown, and his thoughts about current religious news is equally fleeting. 

                                                     Works Cited

Davis, Mike. City of Quartz.New York:  Verso, 1990.

Fierro, Jonathan. “La Placita Threatened.”  Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission. March      2003. Holman. 2003. <http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/2003/0303jf.htm>

Fierro, Jonathan. “Storefront ‘Catholic’ Churches Draw Latinos.” Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission. September 2003. Holman. http://www.losangelesmission.com/ed/articles/2003/0903jf.htm

Fox, Tom. “2,000 gather to mourn activist Father Olivares.” National Catholic Reporter. April 2, 1993. <http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ml141/is_v29/ai_13655306>

Gottlieb, Robert et al. The Next Los Angeles. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2005.

Griffin, Drew and Kathleen Johnston. “Priest makes most honest confession of his life.” CNN. June 27, 2006. http://www.com/2006/LAW/06/27/griffin.priestabuse/index.html

Hernandez, Marita. “La Placita’s Beloved Former Pastor Luis Olivares Afflicted by AIDS.” Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1990. http://www.aegis.com/news/Lt/1990/LT900707.html