Cops Thwart Vatican Abuse Protest

A small but symbolic protest staged by victims of sex abuse at the hands of American clergy was stymied Monday when police escorted one of the organizers off St. Peter's Square as she was preparing to distribute fliers.

Several uniformed officers walked Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, behind barricades set up at the entrance to the square. The officers did not explain why they escorted Blaine off the piazza, and she had no immediate comment.

Blaine and another leader of the group were bringing their campaign for reform to the center of Roman Catholicism, demanding that Vatican officials bar Cardinal Bernard Law from celebrating an important Mass mourning Pope John Paul II.

They arrived in Rome just hours before Monday afternoon's service at St. Peter's Basilica, condemned what they called the Vatican's "hurtful decision" to choose Law for the honor.

"This is a man who is the poster child for covering up sexual abuse crimes against children," said Paul Steidler, who says he was abused by a priest for two years.

Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002, after unsealed court records revealed he had moved predatory clergy among parishes without alerting parents that their children were at risk. More than 550 people have filed abuse claims in Boston in recent years and the archdiocese has paid more than $85 million in settlements.

The pope brought Law to Rome and gave him an assignment as archpriest of Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.

"The mere fact that he is getting this position of honor, this position of prominence in Rome, it's quite unfortunate and it's quite hurtful," said Steidler.

SNAP's leaders planned later Monday to distribute fliers in English and Italian around St. Peter's Square.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops declined to comment. Law has also declined to comment through an aide at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, where the pope had appointed him archpriest last year. Law has apologized for his failures.

In Canton, Mass., Father Bernard McLaughlin of Gerard Majella Roman Catholic church was the first in the Boston Archdiocese to poll parishioners on whether cardinal law should resign. Eighty per cent, including McLaughlin, said yes.

But he told Pinkston he thinks the protest in Rome goes too far.

"One of the keys of Christianity is forgiveness and love and we should forgive everybody and love everybody," the priest said.

"Forgiveness is wonderful. It's great. I mean, I forgive my abuser, I forgive the bishop who covered up for them but that does not mean you allow them to be in a positions of authority," countered Steidler.

The Survivors Network, which claims hundreds of members, has spent more than a decade pressing U.S. bishops to acknowledge the scope of molestation in the church. They have picketed parishes, alerted the public to accused priests living in their communities and pressed authorities to prosecute bishops who failed to report abuse.
Some Catholics say the group is too strident and has close ties with lawyers making millions of dollars from suing the church.

But the Survivors Network says the overwhelming majority of its members have never sued and are too traumatized to do so. They say they adopted their tactics after bishops promised for years to take action against guilty clergy, then never did.

American cardinals generally have declined to comment on Law's celebrating one of the nine daily Masses for John Paul, a period of mourning called Novemdiales. But some have said the Vatican likely chose him because he leads an important church, not to give him a personal honor. St. Mary Major is one of four basilicas under direct Vatican jurisdiction.

Still, the assignment gives Law a position of influence. In their homilies, cardinals can highlight what they consider key concerns for the church. Observers scour the speeches for clues to how a cardinal will vote.

Some Boston Catholics said Law's role in mourning the pope was another sign that church officials did not understand the betrayal parishioners felt over his wrongdoing.

The abuse crisis erupted in January 2002 with the case of one accused priest in Boston, then spread nationwide, compelling American bishops to enact sweeping reforms of their discipline policy for guilty priests.

According to studies the bishops commissioned to restore trust in their leadership, more than 11,000 abuse claims have been made against U.S. clergy since 1950. The total payout to victims has climbed to at least $840 million.