ROME
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday, April 11, 2005
By Daniel Williams and Alan Cooperman, The Washington Post
ROME -- American victims of sexual abuse by priests said yesterday that the Vatican was "rubbing salt into our wounds" by honoring Cardinal Bernard Law, who was designated to celebrate a special Mass of mourning for Pope John Paul II today.
Leaders of a U.S. victims' group flew from Chicago to Rome yesterday to protest the high-profile role given to Law, who was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 after court records showed he had knowingly transferred sexual abusers from parish to parish without informing civil authorities or the public.
"It feels like Cardinal Law is exploiting the pope's death for his own self-aggrandizing rehabilitation," said David Clohessy, executive director of the 5,000-member Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It is just rubbing salt into our wounds and the wounds of caring Catholics."
The protesters have set up a clash of two worlds: the American planet of open demonstrations, sharp words and publicity seeking and the Vatican sphere of discretion, indirection and, this week at least, enforced silence of its top leadership.
Posted by kshaw at April 11, 2005 01:34 AM