Some victims and their families have reacted strongly to news of Bernard Law's death by saying they hope he has gone to hell for allowing such a thing to happen over and over again. The current leader of the Boston Archdiocese, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, was careful with his words during a press conference stating that ultimately it's the goal of Christianity to see that everyone gets into heaven.
During a recent interview with the Salem News, abused former altar boy Bernie McDaid described a private meeting he and his mother had with Cardinal Law in 2002. “I'm not sticking up for Bernie Law but he did apologize.” McDaid added, “He was absolutely wrong and he knew it. But he represents hundreds of cardinals who were moving priests around. To make Bernie Law the scapegoat kind of shortens the issue to Boston. This is all over the world.”
McDaid also recalled a meeting he helped organize between victims and Cardinal Law. A young woman whose brother was abused by a priest and later took his own life stood up and said to the Cardinal, “I want you to know that you killed my brother.” When Cardinal Law looked down at the floor, she screamed at him, “Look me in the eye. You're a murderer.”
Keeping the allegations of abuse quiet also made the victims think they were alone. Imagine the weight of such a violation on your soul. Now imagine having to bear that weight all by yourself. I think if there is any sense of justice, Cardinal Law would experience all the heartache, indignity and trauma of the lives that were ruined by the cover up. The sad part was, it didn't have to be this way.
Our priests lecture us all the time about standing up for what is right even if it costs us dearly. They cite how much the martyrs gave up and ask if we would do the same. Why is it the Church didn't follow its own advice? When Cardinal Law first received complaints about abusive priests, he should have been on the phone to the police. (The Church today would be in much better shape spiritually and financially if he had!) Reassigning those priests to other parishes was like hoping a ticking time bomb wouldn't go off. What was it about Bernard Law's character that allowed the abuse to continue as far as it did?
I only met Cardinal Law once during an anniversary celebration of the Boston Archdiocese held at my former high school. He was getting out of the backseat of a car and chatted with a few people near the entrance to the auditorium. Frankly, there was something about him I never liked. Whether it was television interviews or recorded messages played to our parish (usually about money), he struck me as a milquetoast who just wasn't passionate about defending the Catholic faith. I certainly don't remember him being too critical of Boston area Catholic politicians who actively promoted agendas that ran counter to the Church's teachings.
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Some Catholics say we should stop talking about the scandal because being negative weakens the Church and accomplishes very little. What continues to hurt the Church is not doing right by the victims. When members of S.N.A.P. protested outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, one parishioner wondered what more do the victims want. That's an easy thing to say if you've never suffered the horror of a shattered childhood.
What also continues to hurt the Church is it's lack of genuine honesty. In a prepared statement, Cardinal O'Malley said: “I recognize that Cardinal Law’s passing brings forth a wide range of emotions on the part of many people. I am particularly cognizant of all who experienced the trauma of sexual abuse by clergy, whose lives were so seriously impacted by those crimes, and their families and loved ones.” Now if you were having a heart to heart conversation with someone, would you actually use the word cognizant? Instead of a well-plotted form letter that sounds like it was crafted by a lawyer or politician, how about the honesty of plain talk?
Cardinal Sean O'Malley mentions the good work Bernard Law did in the South but this is taking a “Mousilini made the trains run on time” approach. No matter what good Cardinal Law did in the past, his role during the abuse scandal has been cemented in history and you cannot remove the man from such grievous misdeeds.
During a deposition Cardinal Law was forced to give, some of the victims described him as angry rather than contrite. Bernie McDaid recalled in the Salem News how during his second visit to the Vatican in 2010 Cardinal Law hung up on him. “I'm pretty sure it was him. He spoke in English and quickly switched over to Italian.” Whether you believe Cardinal Law was truly sorry for what had happened or just sorry his cover up was exposed, he became the poster child for how badly the priest abuse scandal was handled. It's been said the Catholic Church is in a much better position to prevent such abuse from happening again but it never should have gone on as long as it did in the first place.
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