Cardinal Bernard Law’s Death Opens Old Wounds for Sexual Assault Victims
With the death of Cardinal Bernard Law on December 20 in Rome at age 86, many survivors of the clergy sex abuse scandal dealt with newly opened wounds and fresh memories of their emotional trauma. As head of the Archdiocese of Boston for 19 years, Cardinal Law was forced to resign in 2002 after it was revealed he protected sexually abusive priests. The scandal reverberated around the world.
After an extensive investigation by the Boston Globe, with their first article running in 2002, journalists uncovered a cycle of sexual abuse within the church that stretched over 60 years, involving more than 200 priests and over 750 children. Out of this number, 48 were alleged to have sexually abused minors under Cardinal Law’s watch. The archdiocese eventually agreed to pay $85 million to 552 victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, and the Globe won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting.
Even though Cardinal Law resigned in disgrace, he did not retreat from the religious life, but instead was given a high post in a famous Catholic church in Rome in 2004. He retired in 2011. The Catholic church has a long history of protecting high-ranking leaders from charges of sexual abuse, but allegations that Cardinal Law protected so many abusers were particularly shocking.
Why is it so difficult to punish sexual offenders in the Catholic Church? A culture of hierarchy and secrecy prevents many incidents from being reported to authorities. Vatican documents from as recent as the 1960s instruct priests to deal with any sexual abuse cases as internal matters, not to be reported to police. There is still no formal protocol for handling sexual allegations for the church.
And, because of the hierarchy of the church, lower ranking figures are often afraid to speak out against their superiors—and superiors can protect those they choose to. Cardinal Law, for example, moved pedophile priest John Geoghan from parish to parish as the priest abused young boys. The church paid out $10 million in settlement fees to the families of Geoghan’s victims. After this was uncovered by the Globe, Cardinal Law turned over more abuser names to authorities, eventually leading to his own resignation and Geoghan’s criminal conviction.
However, many victims of the sexual abuse crimes covered up by the church are still recovering emotionally, and Cardinal Law’s death re-opened some very deep wounds. Although the cardinal’s death (Geoghan was killed in prison in 2003) may have provided closure for some, having the story in the news again simply highlights the devastating consequences of sexual misconduct by a religious leader on their victims.
If you believe your child has been abused or molested by a religious leader in your community, you need to take action now and hold that person responsible for their reprehensible crimes. Our attorneys provide caring and compassionate representation to you and your family. Contact the legal team at Taylor & Ring today at 310.776.6390 or complete our contact form to schedule a consultation. We serve clients in Los Angeles and the Southern California area.
David Ring is a nationally renowned plaintiff’s personal injury trial attorney and has obtained multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of seriously-injured individuals or families who have lost a loved one in a tragic accident. For more than 20 years, he has represented victims of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, assault, molestation and sexual misconduct in cases against a variety of employers and entities, including schools, churches and youth organizations.
He prides himself on providing aggressive, yet compassionate representation for children who have been sexually abused and women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted. Read more about David M. Ring.