US cardinal refuses to quit

Cardinal Law apologised for sheltering an abusive priest

The head of the Boston archdiocese engulfed in a sex abuse scandal has said he will not step down despite increasing pressure for him to do so.

Cardinal Bernard Law - who leads two million Roman Catholics in New England - wrote a letter to priests saying he would stay in his job "as long as God gives me the opportunity".

[It] distresses me greatly to have become a lightning rod of division when mine should be a ministry of unity

Cardinal Bernard Law

He has been at the centre of attention since the trial and conviction of John Geoghan for child molesting.

Cardinal Law, 70, acknowledged he transferred Geoghan to another parish despite knowing of sexual misconduct allegations against the now-defrocked Boston priest.

The scandal has spread across the Roman Catholic Church in the US and in Europe, prompting Pope John Paul II to denounce paedophile priests.

'No credibility'

Cardinal Law has apologised for his actions and has handed over the names of 80 priests accused of abuse.

The trial of John Geoghan was the beginning of a torrent of child abuse revelations

But he has not bowed to pressure from people inside and outside the Church who say he no longer has the credibility to lead the US's fourth-largest Roman Catholic archdiocese.

"I know there are people who believe my resignation is part of the solution," Cardinal Law wrote in the letter to priests which was released by the archdiocese.

"This distresses me greatly to have become a lightning rod of division when mine should be a ministry of unity.

"My desire is to serve this archdiocese and the church with every fibre of my being," he wrote.

"This I will continue to do as long as God gives me the opportunity."

Huge payout

The Church in Boston has agreed to pay between $15m and $30m to scores of people to settle claims that Geoghan sexually abused them when they were children.

Geoghan himself is now serving a prison sentence of up to 10 years for molesting a child.

He is accused by more than 130 people of molesting them during his 30 years as a priest.

Since Geoghan's trial, priests in Maine, New York, California, Pennsylvania and Florida have been removed.

Documents released in connection with Geoghan's trial showed Cardinal Law and five other bishops knew about Geoghan's sexual history but continued to shuttle him from parish to parish without alerting parishioners.