Crisis cardinal flies to Rome

The scandal has shaken the entire US congregation

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, has flown to Rome, as pressure grows on him to resign over his handling of child abuse by priests.

The crisis facing the cardinal deepened last week after the publication of Church records bearing fresh evidence that the archdiocese allowed priests accused of abuse to keep their jobs.

The priests and people of Boston have lost confidence in you as their spiritual leader

Priest's protest letter against Cardinal Law

The church in Boston is facing more than 400 lawsuits and is threatening to file for bankruptcy.

In California, the Church is warning of a possible financial crisis too because of a new law which makes it easier for individuals to sue priests for damages in sex abuse cases.

The BBC's religious affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott, says the year-long sex abuse scandal surrounding the Roman Catholic Church in the United States has shaken its congregation to the core.

Angry protests

The crisis in Boston started when it emerged that Cardinal Law had moved a paedophile priest to new posts, knowing of accusations against him.

Last week, Church records described how a priest allegedly molested young girls, telling them he was the living embodiment of Christ, and another gave cocaine to boys he abused.

Cardinal Law is under increased pressure to resign

Several hundred people demonstrated outside Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday, many bearing placards calling for criminal charges to be brought against the cardinal.

Perhaps even more damaging, a letter signed by a number of priests calling on the cardinal to step down is being circulated.

"The priests and people of Boston have lost confidence in you as their spiritual leader," the priests wrote in the letter to the cardinal, a copy of which was published in The Boston Globe.

Open rebellion

Our correspondent says after this gesture of open revolt, the Vatican may believe the situation in Boston is slipping out of control.

Cardinal Law abruptly cancelled an appearance at Sunday mass and departed for Rome.

It is the second time this year that Cardinal Law has travelled to the Vatican amid calls for his resignation.

In April he held talks with Pope John Paul II on the impact the crisis was having in America.

Abuse law change

Roman Catholic bishops in California have meanwhile warned that the Church there could face a financial crisis from a new state law encouraging claims from people alleging they were sexually abused by priests in childhood.

The law takes effect on 1 January and extends the deadline beyond which people can claim sexual abuse by priests.

Under the current law, anyone alleging abuse has to sue either before their 26th birthday or within three years of discovering any emotional problems which might be linked to the abuse.

The law was passed five months ago as scores of allegations against Catholic clergymen were coming to light across the country.

In a pastoral letter, to be read in more than 1,000 churches across the state, the bishops said the law could ruin Catholic schools and charities.