A dramatic development this week in the Catholic Church’s sex abuse crisis: Prominent retired cardinal Roger Mahony was stripped of his public and administrative church duties in Los Angeles amid widespread criticism of how he covered up allegations of child sex abuse by priests. LA’s current archbishop Jose Gomez took the unprecedented step as the archdiocese began releasing internal documents which revealed the extent to which Mahony worked to protect the church from the abuse scandal. Gomez said the behavior described in the files was “sad and evil.” Mahony has issued several apologies for his actions. Advocates for sex abuse victims called this a largely symbolic move. But church experts say it’s the first time in the crisis that any action has been taken against such a high-ranking church official.