BOSTON (MA)
Allston-Brighton Tab
By Sal Giarratani/ Thinking Out Loud
Friday, December 30, 2005
Since early 2002, when the sexual abuse scandal hit the headlines of newspapers, the Archdiocese of Boston has been in the eye of the storm. So much hurt was uncovered about the abuse of priestly power and the awful cover-up by too many bishops that allowed the abuse to flourish and spread in the first place.
The scandal did seemingly force Cardinal Bernard Law to get outta town, but the Vatican actually gave him a promotion in Rome. Back home we were glad to see him go, but couldn’t understand why the Vatican continued to treat him like a prince.
Over nearly four years, I have written countless commentaries on this horrible story that has damaged the faith lives of so many. Victims of sexual abuse have received compensation for their abuse, but all the money in the world can’t fix the faith of people betrayed by clerical abuse.
Then came Archbishop Sean O’Malley and people hoped for the best, but the best has yet to come. He announced something called reconfiguration. He and Bishop Lennon and the rest of the chancery say it had nothing to do with the sex abuse. Closing churches was about saving money. It was all about dollars and cents, but to many Catholics it made no sense.