LONDON—At Jimmy Savile's funeral, a year ago Friday, the priest
delivering the homily was emphatic: the DJ and television host
"can face eternal life with confidence."  Hundreds of people
packed a cathedral for Savile's funeral Mass, thousands paid
their respects at his coffin, and people from Prince Charles to
the Bee Gees sent condolences. He was a cultural fixture, even
an icon, and his BBC television shows had been part of childhood
for two generations of Britons.  But a year on, Savile's
reputation is in ruins. Police have branded him one of Britain's
worst sex offenders, accused of assaulting underage girls over
half a century. Like those who feted and praised him on that
November day, millions are wondering: How could he have duped so
many for so long?   "His life story was an epic of giving—giving
of time, giving of talent, giving of treasure," Monsignor Kieran
Heskin told hundreds of mourners at the funeral. "Sir Jimmy
Savile can face eternal life with confidence."  Savile's death,
like his life, was