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Law got a cushy Job in Rome.

Away from the many families he helped ruin.

Justice would dictate that he be excommunicated in my view.

You call this reform?

I call it a disgrace that could be remedied with the stroke of a pen.

This is a poorly supported argument. Church law, like secular law, involves procedural due process; and the Church, having few investigative resources, often has to depend on secular law to establish the facts in a criminal allegation. In Cardinal law's case, rightly or wrongly, he was never convicted of a crime. So what do you base excommunication on, absent manifest violation?

If there were solid evidence of crime on the part of Cardinal Law, nothing in US and International law would have shielded from extradition or indictment. Certainly not the mere fact that he is now resident in Rome. (He could be picked up by the Italian police any day as he traveled to and from Sta. Maria Maggiore, which is on Italian, not Vatican City, territory.)

The fact is that, regrettably as it may seem to many, criminal charges have never been ledged against Law, and nobody has requested his extradition. If you've got actionable facts that the prosecutors don't have, why don't you forward it to the prosecutors and make sure charges are pursued? I, for one, am all for the criminal indictiment of anyone, laity or clergy, againt whom there is credible evidence and probable cause.

Then on the basis of successful criminal prosecution, you can talk about ecclesiastical penalties. The fact that the Vatican removed Bernard Law from leadership of a powerful Archdiocese, and put him in charge of managing Sta Maria Maggiore with no pastoral authority,tells you what they think of his pastoral competence.

My facts here are what I can remember from ten years ago. If any of this has changed, I will be grateful to be corrected.

OK, I asked about more current info. Here's the update.

Cardinal Law was fully investigated by the state attorney general and the district attorneys in the 5 counties of the Archdiocese. He gave evidence before two grand juries. The state attorney general, after several years of horrible press and intense scrutiny, concluded that Law had not tried to evade investigation and had not broken any laws.

Upon turning 80 last November, Law became ineligible to participate in any papal conclave or to hold any Curial memberships, and was replaced as archpriest of Sta Maria Maggiore by Archbishop Santos Abril y Castelló

'K?