He then acknowledged another troubling aspect of Cardinal Law’s career — that after his role in the scandal was revealed, Pope John Paul II made him high priest of one of Rome’s four major churches, the magnificent Basilica of St. Mary Major. The cushy post came with a spacious apartment that was said to be the envy of Vatican officials.

The cardinal also continued to serve on several Vatican committees, including the powerful Congregation for Bishops, which makes recommendations to the pope on appointments. That post let him continue to reward his protégés and influence who became bishops in the United States and elsewhere.

“I think it’s unfortunate that he’s had such a high profile in the life of the church,” Cardinal O’Malley said. These days, he said, “that kind of a decision would not be made, but unfortunately we’re living with the consequences of that.”

Cardinal O’Malley was appointed to take charge and soothe the Boston Archdiocese about six months after Cardinal Law resigned. It was the third diocese he was sent to clean up following a sexual abuse scandal, after those of Fall River, Mass., and Palm Beach, Fla.

In the first year of his papacy, Pope Francis chose Cardinal O’Malley to lead a new initiative, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Expectations were high for the commission, which included lay men and women, experts on abuse and two survivors of sexual abuse by priests. The pope gave them the task of finding the best practices for protecting children, and spreading them in the church around the world, including countries where church leaders denied that child abuse had ever occurred.

The commission, now four years old, has proved a disappointment to many church observers and abuse victims. An initiative to create a tribunal to judge and discipline bishops accused of covering up abuse was abandoned, with Pope Francis saying the Vatican already had mechanisms for doing that. The two abuse survivors quit in frustration, the pope has yet to replace them, and the commission has lapsed into inactivity, according to the National Catholic Reporter, an American news outlet.

Cardinal O’Malley defended the commission’s work on Wednesday, saying it was trying to reach people in different parts of the world where sex abuse is not discussed. He said that when he traveled abroad to speak on the issue, he always brought an abuse survivor with him. He said the commission had used funding as leverage to get child protection policies and programs established.