Boston's cardinal considers his options

Cardinal Law has faced repeated demands to quit

By Peter Gould BBC News Online

As calls for his resignation intensify at home, Cardinal Bernard Law is four thousand miles away in Rome, discussing his options.

He knows he may now have little choice but to step down from his job as Archbishop of Boston.

Further shocking details about the extent of the sexual abuse scandal in his archdiocese have made it even more difficult for him to continue.

The cardinal can no longer provide real spiritual leadership

Boston priest

Even some of his own priests are now urging him to go for the good of the church.

So speculation is not so much on whether Cardinal Law will resign, but when he will leave the job.

Moral issue

The Boston Globe newspaper has quoted an unnamed church official as saying he expects the archbishop to resign, but not until he has dealt with the legal and financial crises facing the church.

In Boston, churchgoers have made their feelings clear

Cardinal Law is considering an unprecedented move that would see the archdiocese filing for bankruptcy.

At present, 450 people are claiming damages for sexual abuse they say they suffered at the hands of Boston priests.

It could cost the church $100m.

The bankruptcy option would enable the church to draw a line under the scandal, halting current legal action and preventing any new claims being made against the archdiocese.

Lawyers representing those abused by priests are dismayed.

One said it would be a form of "moral bankruptcy" for the church to jeopardise the chances of reaching a financial settlement with victims.

More shocks

Regardless of whether the church does file for bankruptcy, the position of Cardinal Law now appears to many observers to be untenable.

The Pope is distressed by US revelations

For months, he has resisted calls for his resignation, insisting he would remain in office to help ensure that such events never happened again.

The crisis may have looked bad enough earlier in the year. But the revelations of the past few days have been even more shocking.

Personnel records obtained from the archdiocese suggest that senior church officials not only knew about a range of criminal activities by their priests, they kept quiet for years.

In addition to child abuse, there were accusations of drug peddling, assault and battery, and rape.

The file on one priest included the words "trouble with boys".

More documents from church records are expected to be disclosed in the next few weeks.

Priests unhappy

On Sunday, demonstrators gathered outside Boston's cathedral, unaware that the cardinal had made a secret trip to Rome.

Scandal in Boston

Law suits: 450

Cost: $100m?

Crimes: Child abuse, peddling drugs, assault, rape

Accusation: Church quietly moved abusing priests to avoid scandal

The protesters, chanting and waving placards outside, outnumbered the worshippers inside by two to one.

"Law must go," they shouted.

"How can you lead us if you won't even face us?"

Local newspapers have revealed that a group of about 50 Boston priests has drawn up a letter calling on their archbishop to stand down.

The Boston Herald quoted one unnamed priest as saying that Cardinal Law's position was so compromised that he had to go.

"The letter expresses regret that the cardinal can no longer provide real spiritual leadership to the church in Boston," he told the newspaper.

"It is best for the people, for the church, for moving ahead and dealing with the agony of the abuse crisis, that he resign."

Unresolved crisis

The revelations of the past year have left Bernard Law grappling with a crisis unprecedented in the history of the US Catholic Church.

Accused: Former priest John Geoghan

What is decided in Boston may have consequences for the church in other cities, which is why Cardinal Law will want to discuss the bankruptcy option with Vatican officials.

On a personal level, he has faced a relentless campaign by victims of sexual abuse by priests.

They will not be satisfied until he stands down, and the cardinal may decide he has had enough.

But the Vatican may be concerned about the unresolved crisis that he would leave behind.

Resignation now would leave Bernard Law's successor facing a daunting task in winning back the trust of churchgoers in Boston.