MASSACHUSETTS
The Sun Chronicle
BY GLORIA LaBOUNTY / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
The bishop with the Franciscan image and the reputation for crisis intervention is now taking a step up in the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston, who previously spent 10 years as bishop in the Fall River Diocese, is being elevated to cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI after heading the Archdiocese of Boston for less than three years.
`` I am deeply humbled and honored,'' O'Malley said in a written statement. ...
Voice of the Faithful, the lay Catholic group that formed in the aftermath of the sexual abuse crisis in Boston, said it hopes O'Malley's experience in settling the claims of more than 500 victims will focus more attention in the Vatican on the crisis and on the need to involve the laity in governing and guiding the church.
`` The Church needs more moral leadership from all of its bishops, including these newly named Cardinals,'' the organization said in a written statement. `` The clergy sexual abuse scandal remains the most fundamental threat to the moral integrity of the Catholic Church in these times.''