Mahony New Archbishop of Los Angeles : Mahony Named L.A. Archbishop

Bishop Roger M. Mahony of Stockton, a Los Angeles native who has been active in farm labor and other public issues, was named by the Vatican today to succeed the retiring Cardinal Timothy Manning as archbishop of Los Angeles.

The announcement ended months of speculation in which Mahony, 49, was prominently mentioned for the post as head of the nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese because of his fluency in Spanish, his close association with Manning and his willingness to publicly address a range of moral-political issues, a trait characteristic of Pope John Paul II’s recent appointments.

Manning submitted his resignation last October upon turning 75, the customary age for Roman Catholic prelates to retire. However, there was no notice of when the resignation would be accepted and a successor announced.

‘Very Much Overwhelmed’

“I’m very much overwhelmed by the appointment of the Holy Father,” Mahony said by telephone from Stockton this morning.

“I’m delighted to be coming home,” said Mahony, who was born in Hollywood. He went through the archdiocesan seminary system before being ordained a priest in 1962.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese includes 2,561,602 Catholics in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties--about 200,000 more than Chicago, the next-largest archdiocese.

Manning, who succeeded Cardinal James F. McIntyre in 1970, will remain a cardinal. Mahony, named an archbishop with his appointment to Los Angeles, will eventually be in line for the church’s red hat.

Relatively Young

Though relatively young to be designated as head of a major archdiocese, Mahony said he suspects the fact that he has had 10 years experience as a bishop “may have balanced out my younger age.” He was named an auxiliary bishop in Fresno in 1975 and was appointed in 1980 as head of the Stockton Diocese, which has 135,000 Catholics.

Mahony has been close to Manning since the late 1960s, when Manning was bishop of Fresno and Mahony served as diocesan director of charities and social work there. Mahony has also been a frequent speaker in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, most recently on the implications of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ pastoral letter on peace.

Mahony issued his own peace pastoral letter Jan. 1, 1982--well before the collective bishops’ study was finished--in which he called U.S. and Soviet nuclear deterrence policies immoral.

“I’ve issued about one or two pastoral letters a year since I’ve been in Stockton,” Mahony said. “I feel the role of teacher in a diocese is an important one.”

Brown Appointee to ALRB

Mahony accepted an appointment from Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 1975 to chair the state’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board, which had to oversee secret balloting by farm laborers on whether they wanted to be represented by a union. Farm labor strife was at its peak in the San Joaquin Valley then as many farmers resisted organizing efforts by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers.

“We were involved as a reconciler, to try to proclaim the rights of the farm workers as well as of the farmers,” Mahony said. He returned to his post with the Fresno Diocese in June, 1976.