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	Victims Irate over Bernard Law’s 80th Birthday Party By John Zaremba and O’Ryan Johnson Boston Herald November 4, 2011 http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1378273&srvc=rss Boston Archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley — in Rome for a visit with the pope — is shunning the 80th birthday bash today for his controversial predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law, opting to tend to official business rather than attend a gala dinner for the tone-deaf prelate who presided over the Massachusetts clergy sex-abuse scandal that rocked the church worldwide. Invitations were sent out, and 80 to 100 people are expected to attend Law’s 80th birthday shindig at a restaurant near the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where he serves as archpriest. News of the cardinal’s birthday fiesta sparked outrage from advocates of clergy-abuse victims. “Cardinal Law should be in Boston having discussions with victims about why he allowed priests to sexually molest children while he was archbishop,” said attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented scores of abuse victims in civil suits. “There is no reason for a celebration when it comes to children being molested by pedophile priests.” Added David Clohessy, the executive director of SNAP, the survivor network of those abused by priests: “Any celebration involving Law rubs even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of thousands of hurting abuse victims and millions of betrayed Catholics. It’s the height of insensitivity and shows an utter and callous disregard for the feelings of countless wounded men and women.” Archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon confirmed yesterday that O’Malley is in the Eternal City, but he’s there to tell the pope how the archdiocese is doing — not to light the candles on Law’s cake. “We have people over there, but the reason they’re there is to attend the ad lumina” — the archbishop’s regular reports to the pope — Donilon said. Of Law’s party, Donilon added, “He (O’Malley) is not attending it.” Asked why O’Malley wouldn’t go, he said the archbishop will be too tied up with church business before he attends an event at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See tonight. Donilon did say O’Malley is accompanied by at least one secretary in addition to an unspecified number of bishops, but they, too, are there on church business. “This has been planned many years in advance,” Donilon said of the cardinals’ confab. “There’s not an awful lot of opportunity to do much else around it.” Donilon also knocked down scuttlebutt that the archdiocese was footing the bill to send priests, staff and parishioners to celebrate Law’s birthday. “They’re over there on our staff business and to assist the cardinal,” Donilon said. “If other people are over there, they went over there on their own.”
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