What happened?
Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as Archbishop of Boston when it became clear he had knowingly transferred priests accused of sexually abusing children, died last month at the age of 86.
Cardinal Sodano, as dean of the College of Cardinals, celebrated the funeral Mass at St Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis read the customary prayers. Cardinal Sodano said: “Each one of us can sometimes lack in fidelity to our mission”. Several abuse survivors criticised the ceremony.
What the Boston media said
Boston Globe reporter Mike Rezendes, who helped to expose the diocese’s failures, said: “When we published our first story revealing that [Cardinal Law] was at the centre of a cover-up of clergy sexual abuse it was like an atom bomb going off.” The cardinal’s death was “the end of a long, sad, tragic chapter in the annals in the contemporary Church”.
In the Boston Herald, Joe Fitzgerald said the cardinal’s character remained mysterious. “There’s no question priests were being protected and children weren’t, which, in every proven instance, was indefensible and despicable.” But what had motivated the cardinal’s actions? Fitzgerald quoted a priest saying there had been a “mindset” of dealing with problems internally, which dated from “a time when protecting the institution was necessary”.
What the vaticanisti said
To many, wrote John Allen at Crux, Cardinal Law’s funeral must have seemed “untoward”. But regardless of whether he should have received a funeral at St Peter’s, this was far from “business as usual”. A cardinal’s death is usually followed by “gushing tributes” in the official newspapers of the Vatican and the Italian bishops’ conference. Those were conspicuous by their absence. Also, a funeral Mass is not a sign of total approval. “It’s more akin to a final send-off, placing the individual before God, who will be the final judge of their worthiness.”
At firstthings.com, Phil Lawler said the cardinal’s death reminded us of a “painful” truth. “When Church leaders forsake the truth in the hope of protecting their own status, they forfeit their only legitimate claim to public respect.”
✣Vatican lets abuse commission lapse
What happened?
The vatican’s commission on protecting children from abuse has entered a dormant period – but Pope Francis is expected to renew its term later this month. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors ended its three-year term on December 17. Commission member Peter Saunders resigned a few days previously.
Why was it under-reported?
It is unclear what the Vatican’s official silence on the commission means. Were they simply negligent in failing to renew its existence? Or are there bigger changes afoot? The commission was praised at the beginning of its term for including two abuse survivors. But even before his resignation, Peter Saunders had taken a leave of absence after publicly criticising Vatican authorities; and last year the other survivor, Marie Collins, resigned, saying that Rome was moving too slowly. The media is struggling to define the commission’s status.
What will happen next?
In America magazine, Gerard O’Connell said that “informed sources” believe the Pope will give the commission a renewed three-year mandate. Francis has praised the commission’s work. But he now has to decide who will be appointed. Everyone agrees that abuse survivors must have some kind of influence on the commission’s work. But that does not necessarily mean they will feature in the renewed commission. The body will hold its next plenary assembly this year – possibly in April – to help give guidance on abuse prevention.
✣The week ahead
The new Archbishop of Paris will be installed tomorrow at a Mass in Notre-Dame cathedral. The archbishop-designate, Michel Aupetit, worked as a doctor for 12 years before entering seminary aged 39. His family was “non-practising” except for his mother, who taught him and his brother to pray. Two years ago he said: “My dream now is to be a country priest.”
On Sunday Pope Francis will baptise infants at a Mass in the Sistine Chapel. The tradition, on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, was started by St John Paul II in the first year of his pontificate and has continued every year since then.
The severed right arm of St Francis Xavier is in Canada. The relic will travel 2,750 miles over the next four weeks, travelling from Newfoundland to Vancouver. The saint, known for evangelising in Asia, was said to have baptised hundreds of thousands of people. He was buried in India but his arm and hand – which performed so many baptisms – were taken back to Rome.
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