12/14/02

The resignation today of Cardinal Law marks a sad day in what has been a difficult year for the Church in Boston and throughout the country.  It is my fervent hope that the Cardinal’s resignation will be a step on the long road to healing, reconciliation, and unity.  

I ask all throughout the Diocese of Fall River to pray for the individuals and their families who have been directly affected by the evil of child abuse.  Let us also pray for the faith-filled laity, clergy and religious of the Archdiocese, including Cardinal Law, who today must bear a heavy heart upon leaving a ministry to which he has dedicated himself for the past eighteen years.  

If any solace is to come from this situation, it will be a deeper awareness that crimes must be treated as such and effective policies must be implemented to ensure the safety of children.