By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Advocates for Catholic clergy sexual abuse victims are criticising the appointment of a retired U.S. cardinal who has been accused of mishandling abuse cases to a ceremonial role in helping seal Pope Francis' casket and entomb his remains.

Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011, denies any wrongdoing. He will be one of nine cardinals and dozens of other officials overseeing two special rites on Friday and Saturday, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

The rites include the pope's interment at Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Saturday, following his funeral in St. Peter's Square.

"Shame on him for participating in the public rites for Pope Francis, and shame on the College of Cardinals for allowing him to do so," said Anne Barrett Doyle of the group Bishop Accountability, which has tracked Catholic clergy abuse for decades.

David Clohessy, a former director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the role "sends the signal to complicit bishops that... they will still be protected and honored by their peers."

The current archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, initially removed Mahony from all "administrative or public duties" over the mishandling allegations in January 2013, in a rare public rebuke by one Church official of another.

Gomez backtracked weeks later and said Mahony was a priest "in good standing" with the archdiocese, but did not explain the change of status.

The Los Angeles archdiocese said on Thursday that Gomez's first statement had been "misinterpreted" at the time. "We are blessed to have Cardinal Mahony represent our Archdiocese in Rome for the funeral of our Holy Father," said the statement.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Thursday that the cardinal participants in the two events were determined by the individual prelate's length of tenure as a cardinal.

Mahony, who is 89, is one of the most senior-ranking among the world's cardinals.

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Others taking part in the same ceremonies include Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is temporarily in charge of the Vatican in the time between popes; Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State; and the late pope's secretaries.

In 2013, release of Church files related to a lawsuit suggested Mahony and another official had shielded several accused priests in the 1980s by sending them for treatment to psychiatrists known as friendly to the Church.

Mahony apologised after the release of the files "for my own failure to protect fully the children and youth entrusted into my care." But he said many Catholic officials did not understand how to handle clergy suspected of abuse at the time.

The Los Angeles archdiocese, which serves 4 million Catholics, reached a $660 million civil settlement in 2007 with more than 500 victims of child molestation. Mahony at that time called the abuse "a terrible sin and crime."

Mahony will be unable to vote in the coming papal conclave. He is beyond the age limit of 80 for cardinals to vote for the next pope.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Bill Berkrot)