‘It’s not over ... this kind of behavior still continues’
Bill Gately said the focus needs to remain on Cardinal Bernard Law, even in death.
Gately, a survivor of priest sexual abuse and a leader of the local Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he didn’t want Law to quit as head of the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, but instead wanted him to stay and face the consequences.
He hopes people don’t forget now either following Law’s death. He shared his story yesterday with the Herald’s Matt Stout:
I knew when he stepped down, we would lose momentum in getting people help. And the truth is, it’s not over. It’s something that needs to be hammered home. I don’t think we should lose the moment. Although he’s rightfully remembered as a poster child of crimes against kids by clergy, it’s real important we realize that this kind of behavior still continues within the church itself.
Personally, I have stayed away from watching any of (the news coverage), quite frankly. I haven’t read anything. I don’t mind commenting on it all, but I haven’t watched it. Everyone has a particular perspective, and mine is he betrayed the very essence of who he’s supposed to be in the eyes of the faithful and in the eyes of all the parents of the kids he lied to.
Gately said he was aware of the plans for Law’s funeral at the Vatican today.
I think it’s profoundly damaging to all of the victims around the world. I also think it damages the image and message that Pope Francis has projected onto the public.
I would be the first to stand up and say Cardinal Law is entitled as anyone to a funeral Mass. But the damage that he’s done — he’s never been punished, he’s never been demoted, nothing has ever happened to the man. To be consistent with the damage that he’s done, it’s as if he’s done nothing wrong.
So I think to give him the type of funeral that I anticipate he’ll receive is consistent with that message, that — pardon the pun — he’s above the law.