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	Three U.S. Cardinals Take a Stand Sensitive to Victims of Sexual Abuse The Morning Call [Lehigh Valley PA] April 13, 2005 When a primary figure in the priest sexual-abuse scandal in America was chosen to lead one of nine public masses to memorialize Pope John Paul II in Rome, the decision stunned some U.S. cardinals and upset the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. To their credit, however, three of the seven cardinals snubbed the Mass led Monday by Boston's disgraced former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law. The message was clear: It is hurtful to survivors of sexual abuse by priests to give Cardinal Law the honor of leading such an important Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. All of the cardinals have agreed not to talk to the media in the week leading up to the conclave to choose the next pope. However, U.S. Catholic sources told the Los Angeles Times for a story Tuesday that three cardinals avoided the Mass because of Cardinal Law's notoriety: Edward M. Egan of New York, Francis E. George of Chicago and Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles. Aides for three others said they had scheduling conflicts or didn't attend because it wasn't mandatory. Justin F. Rigali of Philadelphia was the only U.S. cardinal to attend. The pope accepted Cardinal Law's resignation as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after disclosures that pedophile priests had been transferred from parish to parish in his jurisdiction, where they then abused more children. Cardinal Law was transferred last year to the Vatican, where the pope gave him the honorary job of archpriest of one of Rome's four basilicas, St. Mary Major. The Boston Archdiocese handled lawsuits and settlements with abuse victims costing more than $85 million. Similar scandals came to light throughout America; legal judgments and settlements reached about $840 million, according to a Chicago Tribune story Tuesday. Defrocked priest Paul Shanley, one of the more notorious in Boston, was sentenced Feb. 15 to 12 to 15 years in prison for repeatedly raping a young boy in the 1980s. The timing of the controversy over the Mass led by Cardinal Law, during the mourning period for the pope, is unfortunate. But the three cardinals are to be commended for taking a stand, out of respect for victims.
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