So that our non-Massachusetts readers can get a sense of how Cardinal Law’s resignation is playing here, the local media is going wall to wall with this. The morning news conference wascarried live in its entirety. Right now, there is a special half-hour news special and later tonight, the 11 o’clock news will be expanded to one hour. There’s all kinds of analysis.
One of the worst bits so far came from Prof. Tom Groome of Boston College who says that the real problem is cronyism in the Vatican and that the new archbishop of Boston should be chosen by the priests of Boston. Yeah, specifically those who signed the resignation letter I suppose.
Then there was the impromptu news conference held by the leaders of the Boston Priests Forum. They said it wasn’t a time for joy, just relief. But the thing that stands out, at leats three of the half dozen priests didn’t even bother to wear clerical dress. If a priest chooses to go to the movies and not wear his collar that’s one thing, but when you call a press conference as a representative of priests, what message are you sending by standing there in khakis and and open collar shirt?
The intense hatred from victims is most disturbing of all. One guy says he thinks St. Peter will have words for Law at his death and that he will be denied entrance to heaven. Others say they will only be satisfied with jail time. I sympathize with the victims, but the descent into hatred doesn’t serve them. I would hope that any therapist they are seeing (and I hope they’re all seeing them) is helping them to overcome that.
