Boston Area News

BOSTON (CBS4) ― Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley has led the Boston Archdiocese since July of 2003. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II, six months after the resignation of Bernard Cardinal Law, and charged with healing the wounds of the clergy sex abuse crisis.

On February 22, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed O'Malley as one of 15 new cardinals of the church. He will be installed in a Vatican ceremony on Friday, March 24th.

Early Years

"Archbishop Sean," as he prefers to be called, was born Patrick O'Malley on June 29, 1944. One of three children, he grew up in Herman, Pennsylvania.

At just 12 years of age, Patrick O'Malley enrolled in a boarding school for teens planning a future in the priesthood. It was during these years that O'Malley began his study of languages, including Spanish, German, and Hebrew. Today, he speaks six languages.

When O'Malley was 21, he entered the order of Capuchin-Franciscan Friars, and took the name Sean. The Capuchins are members of a religious order dedicated to the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.

As a Capuchin friar, Sean O'Malley took a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience. This is why, even as an Archbishop, O'Malley wears sandals and a simple brown robe.

The Priesthood

On August 29, 1970, when Sean O'Malley was 26, he was ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church.

His early years of priesthood were spent in Washington, D.C., ministering to the city's Latino population. Father O'Malley founded the Hispanic Catholic Center, an organization dedicated to helping local Hispanic immigrants with medical, legal, and educational needs.

Bishop O'Malley

Although dedicated to his calling in D.C., it was Father O'Malley's wish to minister abroad. In 1984, Pope John Paul II appointed O'Malley coadjutor bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. A year later, he became a full bishop.

In St. Thomas, Bishop Sean O'Malley established a hospice for AIDS patients and worked extensively with the homeless.

In 1992, Bishop O'Malley was moved to the Fall River, Massachusetts diocese to deal with the emerging clergy abuse scandal. Fall River priest James Porter was accused of molesting dozens of boys. He later pled guilty and was sent to prison.

While serving the Fall River Diocese, O'Malley settled abuse claims with 101 alleged victims. He instituted a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse, instituted a policy of background checks on all clergy and church workers, and organized sexual abuse training for priests.

Bishop O'Malley served in Fall River for ten years, before being moved to the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida in 2002. The previous two bishops in that diocese had resigned after admitting to sexually abusing children. Once again, O'Malley was called on to heal a church in crisis.

In Palm Beach, Bishop O'Malley issued a public apology to victims of abuse, and vowed to remove all guilty priests from service.

Archbishop of Boston

It was just nine months into his service in Florida, that Pope John Paul II appointed O'Malley to Boston, the city at the center of the church's sex abuse scandal. Six months earlier, Bernard Cardinal Law has resigned under pressure, amid serious criticism for his handling of clergy sex abuse. It was discovered that Cardinal Law had re-assigned priests accused of molesting children to other parishes.

From the beginning, Boston area Catholics saw something different in their new church leader. He preferred to be called "Archbishop Sean." Rather than formal vestments, he wore sandals, and a simple brown robe tied at the waist with a rope. He declined to live in the Archbishop's mansion, choosing instead to live in an apartment at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End.

Boston Sex Abuse Crisis

O'Malley quickly went to work with sex abuse victims. He immediately replaced the church's lead lawyer who was working on hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits brought against the archdiocese.

Nine days after his installation, Archbishop O'Malley offered a $55 million settlement to clergy abuse victims. The settlement was rejected, but was double the amount of any previous offer to abuse victims, by any diocese.

Then on September 7, 2003, less than 40 days after Sean O'Malley became Archbishop of Boston, the archdiocese reached an $85 million settlement with 550 alleged victims of clergy sex abuse.

He has faced other struggles in the Boston Archdiocese, including the serious financial crisis caused by declining donations and the abuse settlements. Archbishop O'Malley has faced criticism for how he handled the closing of dozens of parishes, and church schools.

Earlier this month, 88 more people accusing clergy of sexual abuse, agreed to enter arbitration to reach financial settlements with the Boston Archdiocese. About 100 lawsuits are still pending.

Cardinal O'Malley

Following the path of previous Boston Archbishops, in February Pope Benedict XVI announced he was elevating O'Malley to Cardinal.

On March 18, Archbishop Sean O'Malley left Logan Airport, headed for Rome, where on Friday, March 24 he will become Sean Patrick Cardinal O'Malley.

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