Cardinal Bernard Law, whose failures to stop sexually abusive priests sparked the worst crisis in American church history, led a Mass for thousands mourning Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday after police whisked away a victim protesting outside.
This seems an insult to the rape and pedophile victims. Yes, this was Cardinal Law’s church, however it was given to him by the Vatican after he was forced out of being Cardinal in Boston for his continued coverups and evasions. Why did the Vatican reward him at all, especially with a prestigious post like this church?
What will the next Pope will be like? We may just have gotten a preview. Denial, stonewalling, and precious little compassion for the victims, coupled with a belief that the pedophile scandal was in the US only and due to lax US moral standards. In other words, deliberately clueless. They could have chosen anyone and they choose Law to preside over that Mass. A message was sent.
US cardinals did boycott the Mass led Law.
The scandal over sex abuse by American priests intruded on the mourning for Pope John Paul II here Monday as all but one U.S.-based cardinal avoided a Mass led by Boston’s disgraced former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law.
Cardinal Mahoney of L.A. was among those who didn’t go. However he has been every bit as obstructionist as Law was and only grudingly co-operated when forced to do so legally. He too transferred priests elsewhere so they wouldn’t be prosecuted.
Return to sender
That was the response Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley got last month after he mailed a letter to Vatican officials asking them to order indicted priests back to Arizona for prosecution in child molestation cases.
This is deliberate policy from the Vatican. Deny. Block. Impede. How very Christian of them, showing deep loving and caring for the victims of their priest predators.
What else are they hiding?
We’ve only scratched the surface on church abuse.
PS The litle duck in the bottom right of the editorial cartoon says “Ok, ten Hail Marys and don’t do it again for a while”