Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Cardinal Bernard F. Law ’53 last Friday in the wake of public outrage that Boston’s Roman Catholic archbishop had repeatedly allowed priests accused of child molestation to continue to work for the Church.

Harvard Catholics expressed relief yesterday over Law’s resignation.

“It’s a wrenching change—a really big, healthy development that will lead to different attitudes across the nation,” said Professor of Education and Social Policy Gary A. Orfield.

Orfield was one of nine Catholic Harvard professors who wrote a letter calling for Law’s resignation last March, which Orfield said was among the first major public statements asking the archbishop to step down.

Father Thomas E. Brennan, the Catholic chaplain of undergraduates, said parishioners of St. Paul’s, the local Catholic parish, “believe this may be the first step needed in the healing process.”

Brennan spoke about Law’s resignation in his sermon yesterday.

“Father Tom mentioned that...the Church is getting a new birth through this resignation,” said Patrick N. Augustine ’04. “I think he’s right—after all, the problem isn’t with the Church, it’s with its leaders, and hopefully some new blood will help.”

The Boston Globe reported Friday that the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir—the first Roman Catholic to serve as the head of the Harvard Divinity School (HDS)—is one of Law’s possible successors. Hehir could not be reached for comment this weekend.

In a written statement released Friday, Law expressed gratitude to the Pope for being allowed to step down.

“To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes I both apologize and from them beg forgiveness,” he said. “Please keep me in your prayers.”

The Vatican’s decision to accept the resignation is particularly significant, professors said, since Law had been pushing for bankruptcy proceedings in order to save the Archdiocese from the financial ruin that would result from victims’ lawsuits.

“They have realized how deep the threat to American Catholicism has become,” Orfield said.

“The Vatican rarely responds to public calls—it lives in its own world and has its own sense of time,” he added.

Law’s Legacy

Despite their relief at the resignation, Harvard professors urged the community not to forget the racial and religious compromises Law is credited for accomplishing in Boston.