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The point of the move to Rome is to get him out the position of archbishop, not to remove him from the jurisdiction. Don't be dense, if, at any time, after he leaves Boston, he is required for any legal matter, he will be in the U.S.

I respectfully disagree.

Remember that Church official who was captured on tape telling the bishops how to deal with sexual misconduct claims?

And remember how he said if a bishop came across really bad stuff, he could always send it to the Church agency with diplomatic immunity so that it would never be disclosed (the Apostolic See?).

That is exactly what the Pope is doing here.

They don't need to send him to Rome to remove him from his position. They can just tell him to retire---maybe they can even support a claim of a health condition which mandates retirement.

And, remember, the Church has been fighting this deposition for a long period already.

The Church needs him outside the jurisdiction of the local courts. If he makes a clean getaway, there is no way the Church flies him back to Boston for depositions. He knows too much.

Another reason the Church does not want Cardinal Law to testify:

How will it look when a Cardinal of the Catholic Church is forced to repeatedly invoke the Fifth Amendment just like a common criminal?

I respectfully disagree. That is exactly what the Pope is doing here. They don't need to send him to Rome to remove him from his position. They can just tell him to retire---maybe they can even support a claim of a health condition which mandates retirement.

They don't need to send him to Rome, but if you've been following, they don't want to look like the general public can decide who shoulf be an archbishop. They're moving him to Rome to avoid making it look like public pressure forced him to resign. I guarantee he will be back for any legal matter. (Law himself propbably thought until the last minute he could remain archbishop. Maybe he still does.)

He knows too much.

What does he know? That the Pope personally planned 9/11? To whatever extent Cardinal Law ignored perpetrators and moved them around, he is guilty, but I think these conspiravy theories are going overboard. Where any of the victims secretly assasinated?