May 21 2002

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Calls for the archbishop of Boston to resign are increasing amid new evidence that Bernard Cardinal Law protected known pedophile priests. Law says he will stay on.

Documents released April 8 showed that Law had for years ignored warnings that the Rev. Paul Shanley was molesting boys. Law also helped Shanley transfer to a California ministry. The documents provided further evidence that Law had failed to censure a convicted pedophile priest, John J. Geoghan.

Many who had argued against calls for Law's resignation are now insisting he step down. "Law cannot ignore that too large a portion of the community has lost its faith in his leadership," The Boston Globe said in an April 10 editorial. "Cardinal Law should resign."

"My desire is to serve this Archdiocese and the whole Church with every fiber of my being," Law wrote in an April 12 letter to priests of the archdiocese. "This I will continue to do as long as God gives me the opportunity."

Church-law expert Richard Hammar says clergy sexual abuse is not exclusively a Catholic problem. "These recent scandals have occurred because of an inadequate response to credible allegations of misconduct," he told Christianity Today. "The important lesson for Protestants and evangelicals is that the same kind of indifference pervades their own churches."

Also appearing on our site today:

'A Time of Justice'California congregation plays critical role in arrest of sex abuser.

Related recent news articles include:

Law: Issue Of Resignation Not Addressed At Summit — WCVB Boston (April 25, 2002)

Chicago archbishop says no discussion of Law resignation — Associated Press (April 23, 2002)

Archbishop: No Talk of Law Quitting — Associated Press (April 23, 2002)

Cardinal's job at stake ...