Chris Helgren/Reuters
Cardinal Bernard Law, the former Boston archbishop who resigned over his role in a massive sexual-abuse scandal among clergy members, has died in Rome at age 86, according to multiple reports. The disgraced former archbishop had recently been hospitalized, though no further details have been released on his death. Law had served for 19 years as the head of the Archdiocese of Boston before it was revealed he’d been aware of rampant sexual abuse of children by priests. He resigned from his post in 2002 after church documents revealed he’d been shifting accused priests around to different parishes to protect them from abuse allegations. He went on to serve as the Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome until his retirement in 2011. Forty-eight priests are thought to have abused hundreds of children on Law’s watch.