Show Originally Aired: 12/13/2002 CALL 1 800-423-TALK
Vatican Accepts Cardinal's Resignation
Cardinal Law, under intense fire in a church sex abuse scandal, resigned Friday, Dec. 13, 2002, as Boston archbishop, the Vatican announced. (AP) Email to friend
Pope John Paul II today accepted the resignation of Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law, and with that, one of the most influential and important bishops in the United States, is brought down under the weight of a scandal that still has to be measured. More than 450 people are currently suing the Boston Archdiocese, alleging decades of sexual abuse by priests. Together their claims could total as much as $100 million dollars.
A growing number of lay Catholics and priests have been calling on Law to step down because of disclosures that he and other church officials repeatedly allowed priests who raped and molested children to continue their ministry. Today these groups are expressing relief, vindication, and uncertainty. The future of the Church.
