Moving In Day For O'Malley

The installation of a new archbishop has usually been a cause for rejoicing in Boston. This year, the long shadow of the church abuse scandal has muted celebrations.

Bishop Sean O'Malley was to be installed Wednesday as the sixth archbishop of Boston, a community still coming to grips with the allegations that brought down his predecessor.

Some Boston-area Roman Catholics see O'Malley's arrival as a new beginning for the church since he has established a reputation for healing dioceses wounded by sexual abuse.

But others question whether a traditionalist who supports the conservative teachings of the church will be able to make the changes needed to repair the damage here.

Alleged victims of sexual abuse were among those invited to attend the installation ceremony at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Many planned to stay away or protest outside the cathedral, saying they're not yet ready to embrace O'Malley.

"Trusting before the fact is what got us into this mess," said Ann Hagan Webb, who says she was sexually abused by a priest as a child. "I'm reserving my endorsement of his leadership until he proves himself one way or the other."

O'Malley, who wears the sandals and plain brown robe of a Capuchin Franciscan friar, is known as a humble and soft-spoken man who seems genuinely surprised to find himself in such a position of power and responsibility.

Former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, said he believes O'Malley has the temperament and determination to bring the archdiocese out of the crisis. But it won't be an easy task.

"His job is to bring closure and healing to the victims of abuse, and to unite the faithful," Flynn said, "and he'll be under a great deal of pressure."

In keeping with the simple life of O'Malley's order, the ceremony was planned to be more low-key than the installation ceremonies held for his predecessors.

It also was toned down to reflect the circumstances of O'Malley's arrival in Boston, where more than 500 lawsuits are pending from people who claim they were sexually abused by priests over the past six decades.

The archdiocese invited about 2,500 people to attend the ceremony, including 900 priests, state political leaders, and victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as archbishop of Boston in December after being widely criticized for his handling of the sex abuse crisis, declined the invitation.

O'Malley was tapped by the pope in 1992 to clean up the mess left in the Fall River diocese by serial pedophile priest James Porter. Last October, he was made bishop of Palm Beach, Fla., where his two immediate predecessors resigned after confessing to molesting children.

In Fall River, O'Malley was praised for reaching out to victims and instituting reforms that included mandatory background checks and abuse prevention training.

Susan Gallagher, a member of the Boston-based Coalition of Catholics and Survivors, said she believes much of the praise for O'Malley is because of his humble demeanor and appearance.

"Sandals do not an effective abuse policy make," she said. "What we clearly need is concrete change - not a change of image, a change of reality."

Yet other victims are willing to give O'Malley the benefit of the doubt.

Gary Bergeron, who says he and his younger brother were sexually abused in the 1970s by a priest, said he plans to attend O'Malley's installation with his parents.

"Bishop O'Malley is the first church official who has extended an invitation," Bergeron said. "He extended an olive branch and I plan on accepting it."

By Denise Lavoie