Bernard Cardinal Law: Encyclopedia II - Bernard Cardinal Law - Curial appointments

Bernard Cardinal Law - Curial appointments

Prompted by public calls, Cardinal Law resigned as Archbishop of Boston, despite the support of his pastoral work by Pope John Paul II. The pope appointed the Cardinal on May 27, 2004 to several administrative posts of the Roman Curia and named him as archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the five major basilicas of the Roman Catholic Church. Several advocacy groups, such as the Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests (SNAP) and Voice of the Fatithful, protested and questioned that duty given to Cardinal Law, suggesting that it showed a lack of respect for the abuse victims and serves as a prime example of John Paul II's treatment of corrupt officials. (Law himself, however, has never been accused of sexual abuse.)

After the death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Dean of the College of Cardinals (and later to become John Paul II's successor as Pope Benedict XVI), gave Cardinal Law the honor of celebrating one of nine official Vatican masses during the nine official days of mourning.

As a member of the College of Cardinals under the age of 80, Law was also one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI as successor to John Paul.

In an diary published by an anonymous Cardinal, Law was reputed to have received one vote on the last ballot in the 2005 papal conclave.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Curial appointments", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki