BROOKLYN (NY)
Newsday
By Stephanie Saul
Staff Writer
Gratified that a scandalous chapter in the Archdiocese of Boston could be drawing to a close with the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, several leading local Roman Catholics issued no call for a hasty departure by Brooklyn Bishop Thomas Daily.
Instead, laity and clergy alike said they hoped for a smoother transition — as well as input in selecting his successor — as the retiring Daily is replaced. They also urged the outgoing Brooklyn bishop to hold a large meeting of abuse victims that would publicly show his pastoral concern and attempt to heal the diocese as his departing act.
“There’s still time for an opportunity for Bishop Daily to leave us in better shape,” said Melissa Gradel, the Brooklyn coordinator for Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic reform group. “We haven’t seen an appropriate pastoral outreach to the victims of abuse.”
Instead, laity and clergy alike said they hoped for a smoother transition — as well as input in selecting his successor — as the retiring Daily is replaced. They also urged the outgoing Brooklyn bishop to hold a large meeting of abuse victims that would publicly show his pastoral concern and attempt to heal the diocese as his departing act.
“There’s still time for an opportunity for Bishop Daily to leave us in better shape,” said Melissa Gradel, the Brooklyn coordinator for Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic reform group. “We haven’t seen an appropriate pastoral outreach to the victims of abuse.”
