Bernard Francis Law

Bernard Francis Law (born November 4, 1931) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop emeritus of Boston, former archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and Cardinal Priest of Santa Susanna, the American Catholic church in Rome.

Law was the Archbishop of Boston until his resignation on December 13, 2002, in response to the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal after church documents showed he had covered up sexual abuse committed by dozens of Catholic priests within his archdiocese. One priest alone was revealed to have raped or molested 130 children for decades while Law and other local officials moved him between churches rather than going to the authorities. Law orchestrated secret settlements for abuse claims made against at least seventy of his priests, in which families were paid to stay silent about the molestation and rape of their children.

Just two years after resigning from his position in Boston, which the Church called "an important step in the healing process",Pope John Paul II appointed Law as Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome in 2004. He resigned from this position upon reaching the age of 80 in November 2011.