An American cardinal accused of covering up a clerical child sex abuse scandal is among those selected to help close Pope Francis' casket and oversee his burial, the New York Post reports.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, 89, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles who was stripped of his administrative and public duties in January 2013, is one of nine cardinals who will close the pontiff's open coffin on Friday (April 25) ahead of a funeral scheduled to take place Saturday (April 26) morning in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican announced on Wednesday (April 23). Mahony will also reportedly oversee Pope Francis' burial at Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome after the funeral takes place.

“Shame on him for participating in the public rite for Pope Francis, and shame on the College of Cardinals for allowing him to do so,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, a member of the Bishop Accountability group, which has tracked clergy abuse committed by leaders of the Catholic church for decades, via the New York Post.

A spokesperson for the Vatican claimed Mahony was chosen for his duties based on his seniority as a cardinal. The disgraced cardinal retired in 2011 after 25 years as the Archbishop of Los Angeles and was relieved of public duties by his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez, after thousands of confidential church files revealed his work to shield pedophile priests and protect the church from scandal.

Mahony was reported to have kept priest Michael Baker, who has since been defrocked, in circulation despite Baker confessing in 1986 to molesting two boys during a nearly seven-year period. Baker was, instead, sent for psychological treatment before returning to the clergy a year later, at which point he was advised by Mahony not to spend time with minors.

Baker wasn't removed from the ministry until 2000, despite documented instances of being alone with young boys after Mahony's warnings, and was later convicted of child molestation in 2007, the same year the archdiocese settled more than 500 clergy abuse lawsuits, which equaled a record $660 million in payouts. Pope Francis' funeral is scheduled to take place at 10:00 a.m. ET with several world leaders, including President Donald Trump, scheduled to attend.

Morris Knight