Editing Bernard Francis Law (section)

==Roman appointment==
Within weeks of his resignation, Law moved from Boston to Rome.<ref name="Where" /> When the state attorney general issued his report entitled ''Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston'' (July 23, 2003), he severely criticized Law, mentioning that "the Archdiocese has shown an institutional reluctance to adequately address the problem and, in fact, made choices that allowed the abuse to continue," but did not allege that Law had tried to evade investigation.<ref name="Where" /> He said that Cardinal Law had not broken any laws, because the law requiring abuse to be reported was not expanded to include priests until 2002.<ref>{{cite book| url= http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/reports/ReillyExecSum.pdf |publisher= Office of Attorney General, Massachusetts| title= The Sexual Abuse of Children in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston: Executive Summary and Scope of Investigation| date=July 23, 2003| website= bishop-accountability.org| access-date= December 21, 2017}}</ref>

Law was a member of the Congregations for [[Congregation for the Oriental Churches|the Oriental Churches]], [[Congregation for the Clergy|the Clergy]], [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments|Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments]], [[Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples|Evangelisation of Peoples]], [[Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life|Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life]], [[Congregation for Catholic Education|Catholic Education]], [[Congregation for Bishops|Bishops]] as well as the [[Pontifical Council for the Family]].<ref name="Where" /><ref name=graun7no15 /> He held membership in all these congregations and of the council before resigning from the governance of the Archdiocese of Boston, and at that time was also a member of the [[Pontifical Council for Culture]].<ref>Annuario Pontificio 2002</ref> He became even more influential in those [[Congregation (Roman Curia)|Vatican congregations]] and, being based in Rome, he could attend all their meetings, unlike cardinals based in other countries.<ref name=graun7no15>{{cite news| url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/cardinal-bernard-law-disgraced-boston-child-abuse-scandal-vatican-haven-spotlight |work= [[The Guardian]]| title= How cardinal disgraced in Boston child abuse scandal found a Vatican haven| date=November 7, 2015| first1= Stephanie| last1= Kirchgaessner | first2= Amanda| last2= Holpuch| access-date= December 21, 2017}}</ref>

In May 2004, [[Pope John Paul II]] appointed Law to a post in [[Rome]], as [[Archpriest]] of the [[Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore]], a largely ceremonial role.<ref>{{cite news| title= Cardinal Law Given Post In Rome| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/us/cardinal-law-given-post-in-rome.html | work= The New York Times| date= May 28, 2004| access-date= April 11, 2008}}</ref>  Some saw this an attempt to shield Law from potential criminal prosecution as his new position conveyed citizenship in Vatican City.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2012/07/the-current-legislation-on-citizenship-in-the-vatican-city-state/|title=The Current Legislation on Citizenship in the Vatican City State &#124; in Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress|date=July 18, 2012}}</ref>

Law reached 80 on November 4, 2011, and lost the right to participate in a [[papal conclave]] as well as his memberships in offices of the [[Roman Curia]].<ref name="Where" /> He remained as archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore until November 21, 2011, when Archbishop [[Santos Abril y Castelló]] was appointed as the new archpriest.<ref name=graun7no15 />

In Rome, Law was considered an active and important conservative voice within many of the Vatican offices in which he served. Robert Mickens, a longtime Vatican journalist, reported that Law believed he had been "badly done by", and that other cardinals saw him as a victim rather than a guilty party. Until his retirement, Mickens said, "He did not lose his influence. He was a member of more congregations than any other bishop&nbsp;... Cardinals that are members of these offices can't always go to the meetings—they are not in Rome—but Bernie Law did and he goes everywhere and he keeps his head held high."<ref name=graun7no15 />