VATICAN: Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced former
archbishop of Boston whose failures to stop child molesters in the
priesthood sparked what would become the worst crisis in American
Catholicism, died early on Wednesday, the Vatican said. He was 86.
Law
had been sick and was recently hospitalised in Rome. Law was once one
of the most important leaders in the US church. He influenced Vatican
appointments to American dioceses, helped set priorities for the
nation’s bishops and was favoured by Pope John Paul II.
But
in January 2002, The Boston Globe began a series of reports that used
church records to reveal that Law had transferred abusive clergy among
parish assignments for years without alerting parents or police.
Within
months, Catholics around the country demanded to know whether their
bishops had done the same, a scandal that was recounted in detail by the
Oscar-winning film Spotlight.
Law’s successor as
archbishop, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, said on Wednesday it was a “sad
reality” that Law’s legacy will forever be tied to the abuse scandal
since he led the Boston archdiocese at a time “when the church seriously
failed” in its job to care for its flock and protect children.
“I
offer my sincere apologies for the harm they suffered, my continued
prayers and my promise that the archdiocese will support them in their
effort to achieve healing,” O’Malley said in a statement.
Law
tried to manage the mushrooming scandal in his own archdiocese by first
refusing to comment, then apologising and promising reform. But
thousands more church records were released describing new cases of how
Law and others expressed more care for accused priests than for victims.
Amid
a groundswell against the cardinal, including rare public rebukes from
some of his own priests, Law asked to resign and the pope said yes.
“It
is my fervent prayer that this action may help the archdiocese of
Boston to experience the healing, reconciliation and unity which are so
desperately needed,” Law said when he stepped down as head of the Boston
archdiocese in December 2002. “To all those who have suffered from my
shortcomings and mistakes, I both apologise and from them beg
forgiveness.”