Protest adds fuel to calls for Law's resignation

BOSTON -- Facing rekindled outrage from priests and parishioners over new revelations of clergy misconduct, Cardinal Bernard Law stayed away from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday as protesters renewed calls for his resignation.

Some 400 protesters gathered outside the cathedral, where Law had been expected to celebrate Mass, as they have since the abuse scandal erupted in January. An archdiocese spokeswoman refused to say where Law was, saying only that he had no public schedule.

Sunday's larger-than-usual protest was fueled by last week's release of new internal church documents containing some of the most spectacular allegations yet, suggesting church officials tolerated a wide range of clergy misconduct, and not just sexual abuse of boys.

"His presence here is hindering the ability of the victims to come out. He is the real voice of dissent here. He is the one flouting Catholic teachings time and again," said Jean Garrity, 43, of Wellesley, a member of the dissident group Voice of the Faithful.

Law has brushed off calls for his resignation for months, but for the first time he now faces the same request from priests.

Draft statement

Boston-area priests have been circulating a draft statement calling for Law's resignation. The petition praises Law for his leadership, but says the release of damaging internal church files makes his resignation "a necessary step."

"(The) events of recent months and, in particular, of these last few days, make it clear to us that your position as our bishop is so compromised that it is no longer possible for you to exercise the spiritual leadership required for the church of Boston," the petition reads.

The draft document initially called for 50 signatures, but the Rev. Robert Bullock, the head of a 250-member Boston Priests Forum, said Sunday it would require many more signatories to indicate a "consensus" that Law had to go. Once the document was finished, he would sign it himself, he said.

"We need new leadership, and we cannot build trust and confidence without new leadership," he said.

The Boston Priests Forum plans to discuss calling on Law to resign at a meeting Friday, he said.

Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Morrissey said she could not comment on the petition because she had not seen it. She also said Law was not deterred by Sunday's protest at the cathedral, but would not say where he was.

Personnel papers

The latest personnel papers, part of a huge collection of church files that victims' lawyers pried from the archdiocese, document a priest beating his housekeeper and threatening alleged sex abuse victims, another trading cocaine for sex, and a third claiming to be the second coming of Christ in order to entice teenagers training to be nuns into having sex.

Later in the week, other papers disclosed that a priest fathered at least two children, and apparently failed to immediately get medical help for the mother of their children when she overdosed.

Amid the latest reports, a financial advisory panel gave Law authority on Wednesday to seek a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for the archdiocese-- a move that may prove financially necessary but would infuriate abuse victims seeking damages.