Alleged clergy sexual abuse victims and other protesters scream at the procession of priests, bishops and dignitaries entering the Cathedral of the Holy Cross today. (AP Photo)

New Boston archbishop gets a mixed reception outside cathedral

By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press, 7/30/2003

BOSTON -- A new man leads the Boston archdiocese, but the scene in front of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross was a familiar one Wednesday as protesters vented their anger and frustration about the Roman Catholic church's handling of clergy sex abuse claims.

Dozens of men and women, some of whom said they were abused as children by their parish priests, crowded an area reserved for protesters outside the cathedral entrance. Some carried signs, others yelled out toward passing clergy, demanding they explain the church's failure to protect children.

All the while, hundreds of priests, nuns, parishioners, and dignitaries -- including their new archbishop, Sean Patrick O'Malley -- strode in a procession into the grand cathedral, where O'Malley's was installed as archbishop.

Demonstrators lining metal barricades sarcastically told passers-by: "Thanks for standing with the victims!" Shouts of "Shame!" and "Cowards!" met white-robed priests as they filed into the cathedral, some with awkward smiles as they heard the calls.

Protesters held aloft three 15-foot high crosses called "Crosses of Shame & Deceit" -- which listed archdiocesan priests accused of sex abuse -- and signs and pictures of abuse victims.

"Inside there, nothing holy is going on," shouted John Harris, 45, of Norwood, an alleged victim of the Rev. Paul Shanley. "This is damage control. There will be no justice until we see people behind bars!"

Michael Loerch, 27, of Boston, a Capuchin friar who walked past protesters who heckled passers-by, said he understood why they were angry.

"They have a voice that needs to be heard," he said.

About 100 yards away, it was a different scene as teens from Our Lady of Assumption in East Boston shook tambourines and sang choruses of praise to make O'Malley feel at home.

Parishioner John Belmonte, 38, of Burlington, held a banner that greeted O'Malley, and said he wanted O'Malley to hear a more encouraging voice on his first day. Without them, the protesters "would be (church officials') gauge on how everybody feels about this new beginning," he said. "We feel quite the opposite."

In the basement of a Catholic school across the street, about 50 people gathered around cafeteria tables to watch the ceremony on television. Some cried as a letter from the pope was read, and the crowd clapped at O'Malley's jokes and promises to bring healing.

"The pope just knew what he was doing. He didn't forget us," said Myrtle Cruz of Boston. "He sent us a humble man who will help to heal our church. It's just a gift from Rome -- from God."

O'Malley takes over the archdiocese at the center of a sex abuse scandal that forced out his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law. Internal church papers showed top officials, including Law, transferred pedophile priests between parishes while keeping their offenses secret.

In a recent report, state Attorney General Thomas Reilly estimated that at least 1,000 children were sexually abused by 237 priests and 13 other church workers between 1940 and 2000.

O'Malley comes to Boston from Palm Beach, Fla., where he served for less than a year. He had been sent there last October from Fall River, where he first carved out a reputation for healing dioceses troubled by sex abuse allegations.

Protester Steve Lewis of Lynn said Monday he didn't buy O'Malley reputation, and called him a "puppet of the Vatican."

"You'd think Jesus Christ was coming to town," he said. "The church, the laity is just going to be bamboozled again."

Two attorneys for alleged abuse victims, Roderick MacLeish and Jeff Newman, were particularly upset that Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, who has compared the media treatment of Law to anti-Christian crackdowns under Hitler and Stalin, attended the ceremony.

"This installation was suppose to mark a new beginning and we are deeply concerned that the cardinal's presence represents a continuation of the mindset at the highest levels of the church which has allowed thousands of children around the country to be raped and molested by priests," the lawyers said in a joint statement.

The Rev. Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the Boston archdiocese, said Rodriguez clarified his comments in a July 18 interview in the National Catholic Reporter, in which he said the crisis received disproportionate attention, considering problems like poverty, AIDS and drugs.

"At any time, his presence would not have marred the installation," Coyne said.

Claire Croghan, 70, of Boston, offered a conciliatory view as she quietly stood in the protesters area holding a sign giving O'Malley "100,000 welcomes."

"We have to go forward, even though we can never forget what happened in the past," she said. "I hope people who have been disenfranchised from the church will give him a chance."

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Associated Press reporters Hilary Roxe and Theo Emery contributed to this report.