T U E S D A Y , A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 0 5Cardinal Law -- Given Cold Shoulder By USCardinalsby Michael in New York on 4/12/2005 03:15:00 AMFinally, someone in Rome realizes Cardinal Law is a source ofshame for the Church, however dearly the departed Popeconsidered him.</p><p> According to the LA Times, six out of the sevenUS Cardinals avoided Law's mass, where he was given thehonor due to his ceremonial position at the Vatican and allowedto say a mass for the Pope and -- crucially -- give a homilywhere he could try and shape or influence the debate aboutwho should be the next Pope.Now most of the other cardinal also skipped the mass on arainy afternoon, but their motives are unclear. (The storydoesn't report the level of attendance by cardinals at the othermemorial masses.) Three of the US cardinals had scheduleconflicts or chose not to attend when they found out it wasn'texpected or mandatory.But three of the US cardinals specifically avoided the mass andthose close to them let it be known why -- it was because ofthe sex abuse scandals where Law played a key role inprotecting priests who raped little boys and did so for decades,knowingly and inhumanely shuttling the priests from parish toparish where they could molest again, lying to others about thepriests and generally betraying every sense of grace andcompassion that Jesus embodied.The three Cardinals who stayed away to snub him were Egan ofNY (thank God for that), George of Chicago and Mahoney of LA(who is generally dismissed by Vatican watchers for beinguninfluential because he's such a hippie -- ie. doesn't hatewomen, thinks raping kids is bad, etc.) One cardinal -- Rigali ofPhiladelphia -- was the only US cardinal present at the Vaticanto attend the mass.</p><p> Anyone from Philly? Rigali should be chidedand shamed and demanded to make amends for associatingwith Law by the people of his parish.</p><p> Like all sinners, Law canbe forgiven, but he must show repentance and pay his debt toGod and man.</p><p> Clearly, a cushy high-paying job in the Vaticanand voting on the next Pope is hardly a sign of sorrow.I hate to disagree with Chris in Paris who saw Law'sparticipation as a deliberate snub to those who criticized theChurch over this issue.</p><p> But in fact, it's much worse than that.The child sex abuse scandal -- which has gone on for decades(if not centuries) and which is hardly contained to the US(recent scandals have broken out in Ireland and Austria andelsewhere) -- is not even remotely on the radar for the Vaticanor most cardinals from around the world.</p><p> It barely registeredon their consciousness and when it did it was simply as anexample of the US's bizarre fixation on sex (a la Clinton'saffair) and a lamentable case of Church leaders caving in topublic opinion and abandoning priests just because the goinggot tough.The child abuse scandal and Law? They weren't snubbing us;nope, they weren't even thinking about it.</p><p> Daily KosIOKIYAPI (It's OK If You're A Private Insurer) -Here's William Kristol revealing the *horrors*hidden within the health care bill as it emergedfrom the HELP committee...</p><p> For Kennedy and hisco-autho...35 minutes ago Ben SmithObama: Cambridge police acted 'stupidly' - Afterspending most of an hour patiently reiterating hisarguments for changing the health insurancesystem, President Barack Obama turned his press42 minutes ago HuffPost PoliticsKathleen Wells: Congressman Rangel on HealthCare Reform - Congressman Rangel: If somebodyis sick and needs insurance, it is just immoral forthem to be denied this opportunity.59 minutes ago Paul KrugmanProfessor in chief - I found Obama's health carepresentation so impressive - so much command ofthe issues - that it had me worried.</p><p> If I really like apoliticians' speech, is...1 hour ago EschatonObama Speaks - In Case You Missed It1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Cardin...http://www.americablog.com/2005/04/cardinal-law-given-cold-... 1 of 57/22/09 10:55 PMVisit ourAMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with vodpod For the GOPers, healthcare is politics.</p><p> They just Traditional media has todebunk the birthers One small step...</p><p> The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, in REM - Orange CrushAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Cardin...http://www.americablog.com/2005/04/cardinal-law-given-cold-... 2 of 57/22/09 10:55 PMEzra KleinTab Dump3 hours agoWonk RoomSen.</p><p> Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’4 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .5 hours agoThe TreatmentHatch Is Out7 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' Proposals12 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S Blog RSS AMERICAblog TV RSS Twitter RSSTwitter Feed Get the blog by email: Subscribe me! 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