Boston, Mass., Feb 22, 2006 / 22:00 pm
When Pope Benedict XVI announced the list for his first group of named cardinals yesterday, some Catholics in Massachusetts were surprised to see their own Archbishop Sean O’Malley on the list--while others thought the elevation only fitting.
Cardinal-designate O’Malley was appointed by the late Pope John Paul II to oversee the Archdiocese of Boston during the height of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, the epicenter of which fell largely in that Archdiocese.
According to the Boston Globe, Jim Marotta, an area parishioner, said yesterday that when the Archbishop arrived, "This city was hurting really bad…I think a lot of us were having some problems, and then the closing of the churches didn't help at all.
“And yet,” he said, “the man has still kept it all together."