Bernard Francis Law information

History
Ordination history of; Bernard Francis Law
Consecrated by
History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated by	Joseph Bernard Brunini (Jackson)
Date	December 5, 1973
Tomás Andrés Mauro Muldoon
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Bernard Francis Law as principal consecrator
Tomás Andrés Mauro Muldoon	October 8, 1984
Robert Joseph Banks	September 19, 1985
Roberto González Nieves	October 3, 1988
John Richard McNamara	May 21, 1992
John Patrick Boles	May 21, 1992
John Brendan McCormack	December 27, 1995
William Francis Murphy	December 27, 1995
Francis Xavier Irwin	September 17, 1996
Emilio Simeon Alluè	September 17, 1996
Richard Joseph Malone	March 1, 2000
Walter James Edyvean	September 14, 2001
Richard Gerard Lennon	September 14, 2001

Styles of
**Bernard Francis Law**
Styles of; Bernard Francis Law
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Boston (Emeritus)

His Eminence

Bernard Francis Cardinal Law
His Eminence; Bernard Francis Cardinal Law
Cardinal; Archpriest emeritus of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore; Archbishop emeritus of Boston
	Law in the mid-1980s
Archdiocese	Boston
Appointed	January 11, 1984
Installed	March 23, 1984
Term ended	December 13, 2002
Predecessor	Humberto Sousa Cardinal Medeiros
Successor	Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna
Orders
Ordination	May 21, 1961; by Egidio Vagnozzi
Consecration	December 5, 1973; by Joseph Bernard Brunini, William Wakefield Baum, and Joseph Bernardin
Created cardinal	May 25, 1985; by John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	November 4, 1931; Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
Died	December 20, 2017 (aged 86); Rome, Italy
Nationality	American
Denomination	Catholic Church
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (1973–1984); Archbishop of Boston (1984–2002);
Education	Harvard University
Motto	To live is Christ

Bernard Francis Cardinal Law (November 4, 1931 – December 20, 2017) was a senior-ranking prelate of the Catholic Church, known largely for covering up the serial rape of children by Catholic priests. He served as Archbishop of Boston, archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and Cardinal Priest of Santa Susanna, which was the American parish in Rome until 2017, when the American community was relocated to San Patrizio.

Law was Archbishop of Boston from 1984 until his resignation on December 13, 2002, after his involvement in the Archdiocese of Boston sex abuse scandal became public knowledge. Law was proven to have ignored or concealed the molestation of many underage children;^[1]^[2] Church documents demonstrate that he had extensive knowledge of widespread child sexual abuse committed by dozens of Catholic priests in his archdiocese over almost two decades; he failed to report these crimes to the authorities, instead merely transferring the accused priests between parishes.^[3] One priest in Law's archdiocese, John Geoghan, raped or molested more than 130 children in six different parishes in a career of 30 years.^[3] Law was widely denounced for his handling of the sexual abuse cases, and outside the church his public image was destroyed in the aftermath of the scandal.

Two years after Law resigned from his position in Boston, which Bishop William Skylstad called "an important step in the healing process",^[4] Pope John Paul II appointed him Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome in 2004. He resigned the position upon reaching age 80 in November 2011, and died in Rome on December 20, 2017 at age 86.

^ Paulson, Michael (December 14, 2002). "A church seeks healing". Boston Globe.
^ "Rinuncia dell'Arcivescovo di Boston (U.S.A.)" [Renouncement and Nomination]. vatican.va (Press release) (in Italian). The Vatican. December 13, 2002. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Church allowed abuse by priest for years". Boston Globe. January 6, 2002. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
^ Paulson, Michael (December 4, 2002). "A church seeks healing". Boston Globe.

[1] Paulson, Michael (December 14, 2002). "A church seeks healing". Boston Globe.

[2] "Rinuncia dell'Arcivescovo di Boston (U.S.A.)" [Renouncement and Nomination]. vatican.va (Press release) (in Italian). The Vatican. December 13, 2002. Retrieved December 21, 2017.

[Globe1-3] "Church allowed abuse by priest for years". Boston Globe. January 6, 2002. Retrieved December 5, 2015.

[4] Paulson, Michael (December 4, 2002). "A church seeks healing". Boston Globe.

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Bernard

His Eminence Bernard Francis Cardinal Law
Cardinal Archpriest emeritus of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Archbishop emeritus of Boston
Law in the mid-1980s
Archdiocese	Boston
Appointed	January 11, 1984
Installed	March 23, 1984
Term ended	December 13, 2002
Predecessor	Humberto Sousa Cardinal Medeiros
Successor	Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna
Orders
Ordination	May 21, 1961 by Egidio Vagnozzi
Consecration	December 5, 1973 by Joseph Bernard Brunini, William Wakefield Baum, and Joseph Bernardin
Created cardinal	May 25, 1985 by John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1931-11-04)November 4, 1931 Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
Died	December 20, 2017(2017-12-20) (aged 86) Rome, Italy
Nationality	American
Denomination	Catholic Church
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (1973–1984) Archbishop of Boston (1984–2002)
Education	Harvard University
Motto	To live is Christ