Law says he will stay on as archbishop of Boston

By Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press 4/12/2002

| Complete coverage |  AG'S REPORT Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly released the results of a 16-month investigation into clergy sex abuse in the Boston archdiocese. Download report [PDF, 1.4 MB] (File requires Adobe Acrobat)  TODAY'S GLOBE A new leader reaches out 3 faces in crowd bound in hopeh At BC, students watch with awe O'Malley's homily reveals frank man Near cathedral, voices of protest 'Good priests' moved to tears Text of Archbishop O'Malley's homily Sandwiches, chips were bill of fare An angry protest, and prayers  GRAPHICS The moment of installation Viewer's guide Ceremony TV coverage  Processional O'Malley's vestments O'Malley's coat of arms Cathedral of the Holy Cross  REALVIDEO | NECN.com | Help with video | O'Malley to be installed today Great expectations of O'Malley Video clips require RealPlayer and Windows 98 or higher.  INTERACTIVE FEATURE An interactive timeline of the developing church crisis, featuring photos and audio.   View timeline  IN-DEPTH Boston's new archbishop Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley has been chosen to succeed Cardinal Law as leader of the archdiocese. Reaction to O'Malley appointment Accused priests are vindicated Three priests have been exonerated after being suspended from their posts over abuse allegations.  CARDINAL BERNARD LAW Coverage of his resignation Career timeline: Priest to cardinal Changing statements on abuse Coverage of his tenure in Boston Photos: Law through the years Boston.com readers' comments  CONTACT SPOTLIGHT If you have information on child abuse by priests, call (617) 929-3208 Or leave a confidential message at this number (617) 929-7483 The Spotlight Team e-mail address is spotlight@globe.com.

BOSTON -- Refusing to bow to widespread calls for his resignation because of the sex scandal engulfing the church, Cardinal Bernard Law said Friday that he will continue leading the Roman Catholic Boston archdiocese "as long as God gives me the opportunity."

"I know there are people who believe my resignation is part of the solution," Law wrote in a letter to priests and released by the archdiocese. "This distresses me greatly to have become a lightning rod of division when mine should be a ministry of unity."

"My desire is to serve this archdiocese and the church with every fiber of my being. This I will continue to do as long as God gives me the opportunity."

Law's decision and the contents of the letter -- including a characterization of one recent case as a problem of inadequate record keeping -- outraged some victims.

"It's insulting not only to Catholics, but the general populace period, of any faith, and it's particularly insulting and contemptuous of the victims," said Arthur Austin, who says he was molested for six years by Rev. Paul Shanley. Austin called the letter "an epistle of indifference."

Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Morrissey was asked repeatedly whether Law had chosen his words to leave open the possibility of resigning in the future. She referred the questions to the language of the letter.

She also refused to say what, if any, discussions had taken place between Law and the Vatican.

Law was not available to comment and Morrissey said he would not perform Mass this Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, as he customarily does.

About a dozen protesters carried signs outside the chancery where Morrissey held a news conference Friday afternoon. One sign said: "Honk for Law to Go." Another said: "Shame."

The letter, addressed to "My dear brother priests" and dated Friday, expresses further regrets about the church's handling of the crisis.

"In a desire to encourage victims who might not desire to enter a criminal process to come forward to us, we did not communicate cases to public authorities," Law wrote. "While our reason for not doing so seemed reasonable, I am convinced it was not adequate."

But Law also discussed steps the church has taken to address problems of sex abuse.

"Obviously, the best of policies cannot provide an infallible assurance," he wrote. "We can, however, learn from our experience, the experience of others, and from our mistakes in formulating the best of policies."

"We have now, I believe, in proper balance the three dimensions: the moral, the pathological and the criminal."

Experts said the letter was unlikely to quiet the storm of protest.

"It's very clear that he sees that his position in Boston as one given to him by God ...," said Stephen Pope, chairman of the theology department at Boston College. "What's really missing here is an acknowledgment that people don't trust him. Cardinal Law seems to still think of this as an intellectual error in judgment, that he made mistakes in good faith. People think he's been guilty of gross moral negligence."

Reaction among priests was mixed.

"My view, and I think the view of the other (priests), are the cardinal's actions are incomprehensible," said the Rev. Robert Bullock, pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows in Sharon, and head of Boston Priests Forum, an association of more than 100 priests.

Rev. Robert Carr, parochial vicar of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, said it is Law's duty to remain.

"He's the one who is there, he's the one who is called to be there. For him to walk away is to deny that reality," he said.

Raymond Flynn, former mayor of Boston and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican who has been an outspoken supporter of Law in recent months, continued to stand behind the cardinal.

"It's not about Cardinal Law, it's about the best interests of the Church," Flynn said. "He's a good man who made a big mistake."

The 70-year-old prelate, one of the most powerful Roman Catholic officials in the country, has come under increasing pressure to resign since the scandal erupted in January. He has acknowledged that he transferred the Rev. John Geoghan to another parish despite knowing of sexual misconduct allegations against the former priest.

Law had previously apologized and reversed a long-standing confidentiality policy. He has also turned over the names of more than 80 priests accused of abuse to authorities.

Despite those steps, he has lost the support of many prominent leaders in Boston's Catholic community. The archdiocese is the nation's fourth-largest, with more than 2 million parishioners.

On Monday, documents were released under court order detailing the archdiocese's handling of Shanley, an accused child rapist.

Shanley, who has been accused in 26 complaints of molesting children, was described in internal archdiocese documents as a "very sick person" and known as a proponent of sex between men and boys.

Yet Law moved Shanley around the archdiocese and wrote him a positive retirement letter. The archdiocese also recommended Shanley for a post at a California church without telling officials there of allegations in Shanley's past.

In Friday's letter, Law writes the Shanley case "is particularly troubling for us. For me personally, it has brought home with painful clarity how inadequate our record keeping has been."

Philip Lawler, editor of Catholic World Report and a former editor of The Pilot, the archdiocese's official newspaper, said the letter would harm Law more than help him.

"The letter is horrible," he said. "It's going to aggravate the problem and make his own life more difficult."

The Shanley revelations prompted The Boston Globe to call for Law to step down. The Boston Herald and numerous other publications had already called for his resignation.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found 60 percent of Massachusetts Catholics felt Law should resign.

When the Geoghan scandal surfaced, Law said then that he enjoyed the support of priests in the archdiocese and that he would not resign. "When there are problems in the family, you don't walk away," he said.