A Boston Magazine article on Cardinal Law’s life in Rome.

The article attempts to claim that Law is exerting great "influence" in Rome  mostly because he sits on 8 dicasteries, but the solid evidence is rather thin.

Law’s continued sway over appointments can be inferred from the selections of Richard Joseph Malone as bishop of Portland, Maine, in 2004, and Richard Gerard Lennon as bishop of Cleveland this May—bringing to 10 the number of former auxiliary bishops of Boston who served under Law and later went on to run dioceses of their own. According to Eugene Cullen Kennedy, a former priest who has written widely on American Church affairs, the cardinal was Pope John Paul’s “kingmaker” in the appointment of bishops during the late 1980s and 1990s. And even today, Law “still has a terrific amount of influence on what happens in the American Church,” says Kennedy, who claims Law handpicked Archbishop O’Malley as his own successor in Boston.

“It seems to me unfortunate that he is where he is,” says Philip F. Lawler, editor of the Lancaster-based Catholic World News, who worked for Law as editor of the archdiocesan newspaper in the late 1980s. “We’re still waiting for the evidence that he understands what happened in Boston. And if he doesn’t understand what caused his resignation, that raises questions for me about his perceptions of other problems, his ability to recognize what’s good for the Church.” Under Vatican policy, cardinals must give up their dicasterial work when they reach the age of 80. Law turns 75 this November.

Since the departure from Boston of his former right-hand man, Bishop Richard Lennon, not even Law’s most strident critics accuse him of any direct influence in archdiocesan affairs. And though he is said to still take a keen interest in events in Boston—he reportedly discussed them with Tom Menino when the mayor visited Rome this May—he has avoided returning. Even when his back trouble became severe during late 2004, he reportedly declined to fly to the United States for surgery—an extraordinary decision, considering the generally iffy quality of Italian healthcare.