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Law pickets eye N.H.

By Michael S. Rosenwald, Globe Staff, 12/23/2002

group of persistent protesters outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross said yesterday they plan to take their picketing on the road next week to Manchester, N.H., to target Bishop John McCormack.

It's not clear how many of the 30 or so regular protesters will make the trip, according to Phil DeAlbuquerque, a Sunday regular outside the cathedral. But he said their purpose is to pressure McCormack to resign, just as they pressured Cardinal Bernard F. Law for nearly a year, over his handling of sexually abusive priests.

When they turned out last week to cheer Law's resignation, several held signs that said, "McCormack: You're next."

McCormack was once a top lieutenant to Law in the Archdiocese of Boston. Many of the protesters said they see him as just as responsible for the crisis as Law himself.

The New Hampshire bishop told parishioners last week that he was haunted by his part in the church sex scandal. He also questioned whether it could affect his future as the leader of the Manchester Diocese.

"These days my past haunts my present and clouds my future with you in New Hampshire," he said at the opening of Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral.

DeAlbuquerque, a cofounder of the group Speak Truth to Power, said yesterday that protesters would "trickle" in to Manchester next Sunday and the following Sunday, as well.

They plan to step up their efforts with a major presence later in January to mark the one-year anniversary of the scandal, he said.

Michael Rosenwald can be reached at mrosenwald@globe.com.