Boston may host funeral

Priest says he would give rites

Notorious Southie mobster James “Whitey” Bulger could be getting a proper burial here in Boston — and a priest who is familiar with him says he deserves a dignified funeral. The Rev. Patrick Moloney, a New York priest who served time in prison alongside some of Bulger’s cronies, said Bulger could have had a “change of heart” and may have “sought God at the last minute of this life.” Moloney, an Irish nationalist with strong ties to the IRA, was convicted in 1994 for conspiring to hide cash stolen from an armored car by masked gunmen. It was rumored he was going to officiate Bulger’s funeral, but Moloney told the Herald yesterday that although he would be willing to give Bulger a holy send-off, he had not been asked to do so. Moloney said Bulger was a “very nice guy to a lot of people.” “We do not deny anyone a burial and many people find God when they go into the system,” said Moloney. Moloney said he was upset with how Bulger’s transfer to a West Virginia prison was handled. “I think it was shocking and very sad and second, knowing the system, the fact that Whitey was ever transferred down to West Virginia where there are so many murderers, I think the government wanted him gone,” said Moloney. “He should have been in protective custody ... . It was a shocking bureaucratic mistake.” Moloney said Bulger’s victims should forgive him and added that any priest should be willing to officiate the funeral. The Rev. Joe White of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Boston declined to say if he would be willing to officiate Bulger’s funeral if asked. However, he said he would comfort and care for the families and victims in their time of need. “As a Catholic priest, I as one would certainly respond to that need of pastoral care of the family. I would do that for anyone. Any baptized Catholic,” White said. Moloney said he had not been invited to the funeral, which he imagines will be private, but would attend if invited. “Anything can happen to anybody,” Moloney said. “Be consoled and leave him in the mercy of God and pray for him.”