US Cardinal Bernard Law dead
at 86
 |
| Basilica of Saint eter in Rome. |
The former Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Francis
Law has died in Rome.
Cardinal Bernard Francis Law has died in Rome
following a long illness. Archbishop emeritus of Boston and
Archpriest emeritus of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in
Rome, he was 86 years old. Ordained priest in 1961, he was appointed Archbishop
of Boston in 1984 where he worked to promote ecumenical dialogue and
Catholic-Jewish relations. In 2002 he resigned from his position in Boston
following accusations that he had covered up cases of abuse against minors.
BIOGRAPHY OF CARDINAL BERNARD FRANCIS LAW
Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Archpriest emeritus of
the Papal Liberian Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome and Archbishop
emeritus of Boston (USA), was born on 4 November 1931 in Torreón, Mexico,
son of a U.S. Air Force colonel. He finished his studies at Harvard University
in Cambridge, Massachusetts; entered St. Joseph's Seminary at St. Benedict, Los
Angeles and from 1955 to 1961, studied at the Pontifical Josephinum College at
Worthington, Ohio.
He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Natchez-Jackson
(now Jackson) on 21 May 1961. From 1963-1968 he was the editor of the
Natchez-Jackson, Miss. diocesan newspaper; from 1968-1971 he was the director
of the NCCB committee on ecumenical and interreligious affairs.
On 22 October 1973 he was appointed Bishop of
Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Montana and received episcopal ordination on 5
December 1973.
In 1975 he invited to his diocese all 166 members of the
Vietnamese religious order, the Congregation of Mary Coredemptrix, and two
years later ordained to the priesthood twelve members of this religious
institute.
Succeeding Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, he was appointed by
John Paul II on 11 January 1984 Archbishop of Boston, the third largest
ecclesiastical see in the U.S. He set out as objectives for the pastoral
administration of the archdiocese: personal spiritual renewal of the faith,
evangelization, social justice and peace, catechesis of the Catholic faith, and
vocations. His first pastoral letter emphasized the need to strengthen parish
life, at the heart of which is the liturgy.
The cardinal of Boston has often been the spokesman for
Catholics in the United States on behalf of Christian unity and the progress of
Catholic-Jewish relations. His vast experience acquired in this area has been
put at the disposition of the universal Church as consultor to the commission
for the religious relations with Judaism (1976-1981) and as member of the
Secretariat for Christian Unity. In 1981 he was appointed Vatican delegate to
oversee the acceptance of Episcopalian converts into the Catholic priesthood.
He has also held several posts within the U.S. National
Catholic Conference of Bishops.
Archbishop emeritus of Boston, 13 December 2002.
Archpriest of the Patriarchal (now Papal) Liberian Basilica
of St. Mary Major in Rome, 27 May 2004- 21 November 2011.
He participated in the conclave of April 2005, which elected
Pope Benedict XVI.
Created and proclaimed Cardinal by St. John Paul II in the
Consistory of 25 May 1985, of the Title of S. Susanna (St. Susanna).
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