Pope Gives Top Position to Disgraced Boston Cardinal

The former Archbishop of Boston, accused of covering up the activities of paedophile priests and forced to resign, was given a prestigious sinecure by the Pope yesterday.

The appointment of Cardinal Bernard Law as Archpriest of the St Mary Major basilica, the third most illustrious place of worship in Rome, outraged his former archdiocese.

It is likely to reinforce the opinion of many that the pontiff does not grasp the seriousness of the issue.

"The Pope is merely doing what any father would do for a child," said a senior Vatican prelate, asking not to be identified.

And the Italian news agency AGI commented that it "seems like an act of personal appreciation by the pontiff - almost a compensation for the high price Law has paid".

The scandal which forced him out of his pastoral duties exploded when it was revealed that he had transferred a priest to a new parish knowing that the priest had been removed from two others for molesting children.

By the time Cardinal Law left Boston in December 2003 the archdiocese was facing 400 law suits.

In Boston, there have been strong demands for him to be prosecuted for covering up the scandal, protecting paedophile priests and putting children at risk.

More than 50 priests publicly called for him to step down after court documents showed that he had presided over an elaborate cover-up to protect dozens of paedophile priests by transferring them to unsuspecting dioceses.

His successor, Bishop Sean O'Malley, has been forced to sell church property to cover the $85m (£47m) settlement paid to 550 abuse victims. This week the church said it would have to close more than 65 churches.

"It is a slap in the face of the victims and the public," Mitchell Garbadedian, a lawyer who represented about 300 victims, said yesterday.

Dozen of clients had called him within a few hours, angry and upset at the decision. "He has not only gotten out of Dodge, but he has gotten out of the country."

Founded in the fifth century, St Mary Major is officially ranked as Rome's most distinguished place of worship after St Peter's and St John in Lateran. It is one of the four basilicas directly under the Vatican. As archpriest, Cardinal Law will be in charge of administration and will have ceremonial functions.