Cardinal Bernard Law -- the disgraced Boston archbishop at the helm during the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal, and prominently portrayed in the Oscar-winning movie "Spotlight" -- is dead.
The Vatican made a one-sentence announcement, "Cardinal Bernard Law died early this morning after a long illness." Law, who died in Rome Wednesday, was forced to resign as archbishop in 2002 after the Boston Globe's investigative reporting revealed he covered up for pedophile priests.
Law, who was never criminally prosecuted, was promoted to archbishop in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. That same year, a bishop brought forward concerns about a priest molesting kids. Law re-assigned that priest to another parish where the molestation continued.
The scandal and the Globe's investigation was the plot of "Spotlight."
Law was 86.