VATICAN CITY — The scandal over sex abuse by American priests intruded on the mourning for Pope John Paul II here Monday as all but one U.S.-based cardinal avoided a Mass led by Boston's disgraced former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law.
Three of the seven cardinals -- Edward M. Egan of New York, Francis George of Chicago and Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles -- snubbed the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica out of concern over Law's notoriety, three American church sources said.
"There was a general feeling it was best not to be there," said a source familiar with one cardinal's thinking. He said there had been an understanding among at least some of the cardinals to stay away.
Another source said the absence of most U.S. cardinals sent a message of protest. "You'd have to be blind not to see that," he said. "The fact is, they voted with their feet." A third source said the no-shows were part of a "pattern."
All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity two days after the Vatican announced a gag order on the 115 cardinals who are to meet Monday to elect John Paul's successor. None of the American cardinals would comment.
Law's role in the requiem Mass infuriated sexual abuse victims and their advocates in the United States and prompted two of them to stage a brief protest Monday in St. Peter's Square.
Justin Rigali of Philadelphia was the only U.S. resident cardinal present at the Mass with Law. The other American-based cardinals -- William Keeler of Baltimore, Adam Maida of Detroit and Theodore McCarrick of Washington -- had scheduling conflicts or decided not to attend after being informed that their presence was not mandatory, their aides said.
Most cardinals from other countries also skipped the Mass on a rainy afternoon, but their motives were unknown.
The silent rebuke by some American cardinals was a new setback in the Vatican's effort to rehabilitate Law, once the most powerful U.S. cardinal and a favorite of John Paul for his steadfast defense of conservative church teachings.
Law was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after disclosures that pedophile priests had been transferred from parish to parish in his jurisdiction, only to abuse more children. Soon the crisis engulfed much of the U.S. church, including the Diocese of Orange and Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
