BOSTON, April 7 -- Cardinal Bernard F. Law left here in disgrace more than two years ago, resigning his position as Boston's Roman Catholic archbishop after revelations that he secretly transferred sexually abusive priests from unknowing parish to unknowing parish.
Now, to the astonishment and dismay of many Boston Catholics, Law has returned to the public spotlight after Pope John Paul II's death.
Cardinal Bernard F. Law celebrates Mass in honor of Pope John Paul II at St. Mary Major in Rome.
(Luca Bruno -- AP)
|
|
On Thursday, the Vatican announced that Law would be the only American prelate to lead one of nine daily Masses for the pope during a mourning period that follows his funeral Friday.
"This is going to be very troubling to a lot of people," said James Post, president of the lay Catholic group Voice of the Faithful, which emerged during the abuse crisis and claims more than 30,000 members.
"You would think that they would ask him to keep a low profile and try to stay out of the news," Post said. "Instead, we have this rather bizarre publicity being generated in ways that are not helpful to the church during this time of intense scrutiny. It focuses attention on the blemishes rather than the positives."
Law is currently archpriest of the basilica of St. Mary Major, one of Rome's most prominent churches. His selection to lead a memorial service on Monday was the latest in a string of events that has raised his public profile in recent weeks.
With the pope's health failing last month, Law was photographed after visiting him in the hospital. Following the pope's death, the cardinal appeared last Sunday on the ABC News program "This Week," though he did not answer questions about the clergy abuse crisis.
"Everything I am hearing today just reinforces the impression that he is above the law and will never be held responsible," said Bernie McDaid, who said that as a child in Lowell, Mass., a city north of Boston, he was molested by the Rev. Joseph Birmingham, a parish priest who died in 1989.
Washington's Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick said he doubted that Vatican officials had taken into consideration the possible reaction in the United States. "The decision was certainly not made for any reason except to honor the church of St. Mary Major," he said.
Asked whether it was a sign of forgiveness from the Vatican to Law, McCarrick responded, "We feel we are all Easter people and therefore . . . we look at the hallelujah rather than the misericordia, we look at the light rather than the darkness."
Once considered among the nation's most prominent religious leaders and a close friend and ally of the pope, Law became for many Boston Catholics the symbol of a church institution that tested their faith by its complicity in abuse by its priests.
Documents made public by a Massachusetts judge in 2002 revealed Law was aware of dozens of allegations against notorious priests, such as John J. Geoghan and Paul R. Shanley, who were later convicted of abuse crimes, but he did not relieve them of their pastoral duties.
Later that year, Law was called to testify before a grand jury, but neither he nor any other ranking church official was ever prosecuted. Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, however, concluded in a report on the abuse crisis that Law bore ultimate responsibility for the treatment of children that occurred during his tenure.
After resigning his post in Boston in December of 2002, Law, a member of the college of cardinals that will select the new pope, took up residence at the convent of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, in Clinton, Md. A year later, the Boston archdiocese reached an $85 million settlement with more than 500 abuse victims. Last year, the pope appointed Law to his largely ceremonial post in Rome.
Staff writer Alan Cooperman in Rome contributed to this report.
