- Original name in full:
- Bernard Francis Law
- Born:
- November 4, 1931, Torreón, Mexico
- Died:
- December 20, 2017, Rome, Italy (aged 86)
Cardinal Bernard Law
Who was Cardinal Bernard Law?
What was Cardinal Bernard Law’s role in the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis?
What led to Cardinal Bernard Law’s resignation as archbishop of Boston?
What roles did Cardinal Bernard Law have in the Roman Catholic Church after his resignation?
Cardinal Bernard Law (born November 4, 1931, Torreón, Mexico—died December 20, 2017, Rome, Italy) was an American prelate who was head (1984–2002) of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston before he resigned in disgrace after it was revealed that he had protected sexually abusive priests for years. Although he was not removed from the ministry and he remained a cardinal until his death, he was one of the most visible figures of the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis in the 21st century. Indeed, Law’s egregious mishandling of the abuse cases in Boston triggered global efforts to expose clergy abuse and establish new protocols and to institute reforms at all levels in the church’s hierarchy.
Early life and career in the church
Law’s father was a U.S. Army colonel, and his mother was a concert pianist. He attended high school in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in history, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained in 1961. His initial assignment was in Natchez, Mississippi, at the time the most impoverished diocese in the United States. An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Law received death threats for the views he expressed while serving as editor of the weekly newspaper of the diocese of Natchez-Jackson.
In 1968 Law went to Washington, D.C., to serve as executive director of the American bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. Five years later he was named bishop of the diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau in southern Missouri. As head of that diocese, he opened the first home for battered women in Springfield and set up a center for Vietnamese refugees that became a national model.
Archbishop of Boston and the abuse crisis
In 1984 Law succeeded Cardinal Humberto Medeiros as head of the archdiocese of Boston, and he soon became a figure of national prominence when he denounced Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro for her support of abortion rights. He was elevated by Pope John Paul II to the College of Cardinals in 1985. On a visit to Cuba in 1990, Law met with Pres. Fidel Castro. It was the first of several conversations they had and gave the cardinal a role in helping to pave the way for the pope’s visit to Cuba in 1998.
The systematic cover-up of sexual abuse in the Boston archdiocese was exposed by The Boston Globe’s Spotlight series, which published its first articles on the scandal on January 6, 2002. The following year the Globe was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, and in 2015 the investigation was the subject of the movie Spotlight, which won the Academy Award for best picture.
When 2002 began, Law was the senior Roman Catholic cardinal in the United States and the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Policy, but as the year drew to a close, he had resigned his position as head of his archdiocese and apologized for what he called his “shortcomings and mistakes” in response to allegations of sexual misconduct against priests. The conviction and sentencing of Father John Geoghan for having molested a 10-year-old boy spurred lawsuits against the cardinal for his failure to discipline the priest. When documents were released in April 2002 showing that he had also ignored warnings for years about such conduct by another priest, Father Paul Shanley, prominent Catholics began to call for Law’s resignation.
In November 2002, after meeting with some victims of clergy sexual abuse, Law said that he had acquired a “far deeper awareness of this terrible evil.” He stepped down in December after lawyers released 3,000 pages of files showing how Law had routinely transferred accused clergy to other parishes without disciplining them. Law was not charged with any crime, although three other priests whom he oversaw, besides Geoghan and Shanley, were defrocked and convicted.
Roles in the church after resignation
After his resignation, Law became involved in a large number of organizations in Rome and was given authority in several of these by John Paul II. He served as archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and presided at masses during the funeral ceremonies of John Paul in 2005. That year he also participated in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI. Such authority angered many Catholics, particularly in the United States, who felt that Law should have been removed from the ministry as a form of accountability for his part in the cover-up of abuse.
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