Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley, in a dramatic gesture illustrating his commitment to change, announced yesterday that he will move out of the Brighton manse occupied by his predecessors and into the brick rectory of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, next to a housing project in Boston’s South End.
The cross-town move, which O’Malley said he expects to complete within the next couple of months, is the latest in a series of rapid-fire steps the new archbishop has taken in the nine days since he was installed as archbishop July 30. On his second day as archbishop, he replaced the church’s oft-criticized lawyers, and yesterday he offered $55 million to settle 542 clergy sex abuse claims. [Boston Globe]