Cardinal who covered up sexually abusive priests dies

Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced former archbishop of Boston who failed to stop child molesters in the priesthood, has died "following a long illness," the Vatican announced Wednesday. He was 86.

After the sex abuse scandal broke in Boston, Law was forced to resign in 2002. The Catholic church moved him to serve as the archpriest of the Papal Liberian Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, one of the most important churches in the Catholic religion.

Law's inaction was revealed in The Boston Globe's Spotlight investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic church. It was found Law and other bishops prior to him had covered for pedophile priests in the Boston Ardicocese, moving abusive priests from parish to parish, despite knowledge of their sexual abuse of young children without alerting police or parents.

Law apologized to victims of one priest, Rev. John Geoghan, a serial abuser. He insisted Geoghan's abuse was in the past, CNN reported. Law, one of the most powerful and influential figures in the Catholic church, never faced any criminal repercussions.

The ex-bishop held an important position in the Catholic church prior to his resignation, serving as an influential confidante of Pope John Paul II. He was also a regular in the White House during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1984, Law became archbishop of the Boston Archdiocese, which consists of 362 parishes serving 2.1 million members, the third largest in the country. It was also in 1984 when Law received a letter from a bishop expressing concerns about Geoghan.

In 1985, the pope elevated Law to cardinal. He was just one of 13 Americans holding that office at the time. Given his connections at the Vatican and in Washington, it was widely speculated that Law was in line to become the first American pope.

As the sex abuse scandal widened, Law offered to step down in April 2002, but the pope rejected it. Later in the year, however, a judge presiding over the child rape case of Rev. Paul Shanley ordered Law to testify, according to CNN.

Law said he was unaware of allegations Shanley had abused children until 1993. Law also testified about his supervision of Geoghan, saying he depended on his assistants to investigate the charges. In August of that year, however, he acknowledged under oath he knew about a monetary settlement between the Boston Archdiocese and victims of clergy abuse. That settlement was rescinded shortly after his testimony.

In December 2002, Law was called before a grand jury as part of a criminal investigation of senior church officials who supervised priests accused of sexually abusing children," according to The Boston Globe. Just a few days following his testimony, however, Law resigned as chairman of the Catholic University of America's board of trustees and stepped down as Boston's archbishop.

Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represented dozens of people sexually abused by priests told NBC News that, for the victims, Law's death resurrects painful memories of the abuse they suffered at the hands of men they trusted, and the archbishop's failure to protect them.

"Bernard Law could have prevented many children from being sexually abused," Garabedian said. "He knew what Father John Geoghan had done and he refused to notify the public. He refused to protect the innocent. Law's death is a reminder — his name is salt in the wound of many victims."

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