Bernard Law could have prevented many children from being sexually abused,” he said in a statement to NBC News. “He knew what Father John Geoghan had done and he refused to notify the public. He refused to protect the innocent. Law's death is a reminder — his name is salt in the wound of many victims."
In the case that started the scandal, the Globe reported that Law and two of his predecessors as Boston archbishop had moved Geoghan between parishes despite knowing that he molested children. More than 130 people eventually came forward to say Geoghan had abused them. The archdiocese paid $10 million in settlements with 86 of his victims and their relatives even as Law was clinging to his job.
Alexa MacPherson, who says she was a victim of clergy sex abuse for six years as a child, had no words of sorrow at the news of Law's death.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish. I hope the gates of hell are swinging wide to allow him entrance," she told The Associated Press. "I won't shed a tear for him — I might shed a tear for everyone who's been a victim under him." Sky more