10 Days that Toppled a Cardinal

 

 

Ten Days that Made History: The Final Days of Cardinal Law, December 3-13, 2002

 

Ten years ago today, we woke to the news of Cardinal Law's resignation. For Boston Catholics, it was the climax to ten days of uproar, and a bombshell finish to a tumultuous year. Our timeline below captures the fast-breaking developments of Law's final days, starting with the release of once-secret church documents. Boston had seen many church documents during 2002, but the details in the files released on December 3 were particularly terrible and the evidence of Law's cover-up particularly egregious. In the next ten days, Law was served a subpoena, priests revolted, protesters thronged the cathedral, more files were released -- and all of this was documented in a storm of media coverage. The crisis was front-page news nine of the ten days, with more than 50 articles in The Boston Globe alone.  

Tuesday December 3, 2002

• In the ten-month-long civil case brought by Shanley victim Gregory Ford and his parents, eight additional files are obtained and made public, detailing sexual abuse by priests and Law's concealment of the abuse. One priest abused girls who wanted to be nuns, telling them he was "the second coming of Christ" and instructing them to "link spiritual stages to sexual acts." Another was kept in ministry by Law despite reports that he had abused three children and violently beaten his housekeeper.

Wednesday December 4, 2002

• The newly released files are the top stories of The Boston Globe and Boston Herald. This day alone, the two papers run 14 articles on the crisis.
• The Boston archdiocese's Finance Council authorizes Law to pursue a Chapter 11 filing.

Thursday December 5, 2002

• The Fords release church records of Rev. James D. Foley, revealing that Law had re-assigned Foley to a parish after the priest confessed to fleeing the bed of the mother of his two children as she lay dying of a drug overdose.

Friday December 6, 2002

• Cardinal Law secretly departs Boston hours before a subpoena is delivered to his Boston residence, requiring him to appear before a state grand jury. Law flies first to Washington DC, where he meets with the papal nuncio, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo. A day or two later, he flies from DC to Rome.

Sunday December 8, 2002

• More than 300 protesters chant "Law must go" outside Boston's cathedral, where Law had been scheduled to deliver a homily. Law abruptly cancels his appearance. The media and public still do not realize that he is not in Boston. 
• Law is spotted having dinner at a restaurant in Rome by John Allen, Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.

Monday December 9, 2002

• 58 Boston priests sign and make public a letter calling on Cardinal Law to resign: "The priests and people of Boston have lost confidence in you as their spiritual leader."
• The Vatican issues a statement confirming Law's presence in Rome.
• Seven additional priest files are made public by the Fords.
• Law's former aide Bishop John McCormack in New Hampshire signs a legally binding agreement with the NH Attorney General, acknowledging that the state has enough evidence to sustain the diocese's conviction on charges of child endangerment. The agreement mandates the release of a detailed report, an 8,600-page archive, and a state audit of the diocese. 

Tuesday December 10, 2002

• Attorney General Tom Reilly harshly criticizes the archdiocese in an unusually frank interview: "The archdiocese has used every tool and maneuver available to them to keep us from the facts we need."

Wednesday December 11, 2002

• Attorneys for the Fords release the files of 10 more Boston priests and one religious brother.

Thursday December 12, 2002

• Four additional priest files are made public in the Ford case.  It is the fifth release of once-secret church documents in nine days.
• Voice of the Faithful calls on Law to resign. 

Friday December 13, 2002

• In a statement from Rome, Cardinal Law announces that the Pope has accepted his resignation. "To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes I both apologize and from them beg forgiveness," he writes. "The particular circumstances of this time suggest a quiet departure."