Cardinal's Transcripts Publicly Released

BOSTON -- The transcripts of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law's testimony in alleged priest sex abuse cases were released Tuesday, even as the cardinal again faced tough questioning about how he reassigned such priests.

Video

Watch Amalia Barreda's Report Transcript Of Law's Deposition

Law was deposed for two days in June regarding retired priest Paul Shanley, now in custody facing charges of raping children while he was a pastor in Newton in the 1980s.

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that for the first day of the deposition on June 5, Law arrived at Suffolk Superior Court where he was afforded special protection.

He was driven into the building, and whisked up a back elevator, then shuttled to a closed courtroom surrounded by court officers. There he answered, under oath, questions about alleged child-abusing priests for the first time.

A subdued Law who answered attorney Eric MacLeish's questions.

Macleish represents the family of Greg Ford, 24, who claims he was abused by Shanley at St. Jean's parish in Newton, Mass., from the time he was 6 years old.

Macleish first focused on the Rev. Daniel Graham, who also faced child abuse allegations at his parish in Quincy.

The cardinal admitted he returned Graham to parish work without ever telling parishioners about the accusations against him.

SURVEY With more revelations about Cardinal Bernard Law's actions related to priests accused of abusing children, calls are coming not only for Law to resign, but also to face criminal charges. Do you think he should be charged? Yes. His actions placed children in jeopardy. No. Even if he made mistakes, he's not criminally responsible. I'm not sure. Results  |  Disclaimer

"You made the decision, after Father Graham admitted to molesting a minor, that he should continue in ministry, is that not the case?" Macleish asked Law.

"As I stated to you previously, Mr. MacLeish, in the handling of such cases, including Father Graham's, I depended upon the assistance of the moderator of the curia and or the delegate assigned to handle these specific cases. Any assignment of Father Graham would have been made upon their recommendation, made upon the study of that case, and an informed opinion that he did not pose a risk," Law responded.

When MacLeish's questions turned to the Shanley case, with allegations against Shanley dating back to the 1960s, the cardinal talked about poor record-keeping by the archdiocese.

"When I say that our records were inadequate, I'm really focusing on records dealing with this type of aberrant behavior," Law said.

Macleish then asked the cardinal why he didn't check Shanley's records when Law got a letter in 1985 from a woman who wrote to Law about Shanley, claiming that she heard him say that when adults have sex with children, the children [have]seduced them.

"I'm not certain that it's common sense to check the file every time, the confidential file, on every priest, every time there's a complaint," Law said.

With regard to the letter from Wilma Higgs, the cardinal again stated that he depended on the recommendations and advice of other priests who had questioned Shanley about what was said. Shanley's explanation to them was that he had been misunderstood. The cardinal testified that his aides believed him.

Meanwhile, Law resumed testifying in the Shanley case Tuesday, arriving at Macleish's offices surrounded by a police escort and whisked into the underground garage at One International Place.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that Law spent the rest of the morning answering questions under oath about what he knew about Shanley. He is accused in a lawsuit of helping to cover up the alleged child sex abuse and moving Shanley from parish to parish, even though he was aware of the allegations.

The deposition began airing in its entirety on local cable news, while a handful of protesters demonstrated outside the offices where the deposition was under way.

"People need to know what's going on. We, who are on the front lines, know a lot about what's going on, but the general public, I really don't think, knows the full story," said Laura Breault.

The Fords are sitting in on the cardinal's deposition once again. They said they are eager for the public to see and read the cardinal's statements regarding the sex abuse cases.

"I think it's blatant confirmation of what people have been thinking for a very long time and that is that this is not a person who should be responsible for a diocese," said Paula Ford.