Vatican City ? Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated Mass in mourning for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday, ignoring protests from victims that his handling of the sex abuse scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church should disqualify him from the honor.

Police broke up a small but symbolic protest staged by two victims of sex abuse at the hands of American clergy, escorting one of them off St. Peter’s Square as she was preparing to distribute fliers.

Several uniformed officers walked Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, behind barricades set up at the entrance to the square. The officers did not explain why they escorted Blaine off the piazza, and she had no immediate comment.

Blaine and another leader of the group brought their campaign for reform to the center of Roman Catholicism, demanding that Vatican officials bar Law from celebrating the important Mass mourning John Paul.

They arrived in Rome just hours before Monday’s service at St. Peter’s Basilica to condemn what they called the Vatican’s “hurtful decision” to choose Law for the honor. The Mass went ahead without disruption.

“In these incredible days, the pope continues to teach us what it means … to be a follower of Christ,” Law said, reading his homily slowly in Italian. “Our faith has been reinforced.”

Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in December 2002 after unsealed court records revealed he had moved predatory clergy among parishes without alerting parents that their children were at risk. More than 550 people have filed abuse claims in Boston in recent years, and the archdiocese has paid more than $85 million in settlements.