Boston catholics turn on cardinal

By DAVID USBORNE

The leader of the Catholic Church in Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, has rebuffed calls for his resignation because of his handling of a fast-growing child abuse scandal said to involve 80 former and still active priests in his archdiocese.

Trouble for the church began on January 18 when a court convicted a defrocked priest, John Geoghan, for indecent assault and battery of a 10-year-old boy. Documents later revealed that the church and Law had known about the allegations against Geoghan but allowed him to remain a priest.

The cardinal responded by announcing a policy of "zero tolerance" in rooting out child abuse in the church. He said all church records relating to abuse would be handed over to state authorities.

By the end of last week, the archdiocese, which covers five counties in and around Boston, had given the names of 80 priests suspected of abuse during a period of 40 years to the prosecutor's office.

Containing the scandal grows more difficult by the day. On Tuesday, a group of seven former altar boys sued retired priest Paul Desilets, who is now 78 and living in a retirement home in Canada. They said they were abused by him while he was assigned to a parish in Bellingham, southwest of Boston.

The suit also alleges that the archdiocese knew that the priest had been indecently touching the altar boys "on scores of occasions" but had done nothing to stop him.

Yesterday, lawyers for Geoghan filed a motion asking a judge to throw out additional rape charges that form the basis of a second abuse trial that is due to start next week, arguing that the alleged violations happened too long ago to form the basis of a prosecution.

Geoghan already faces 10 years in jail for his conviction last month. He is also the target of 80 civil lawsuits.

Lawsuits have also been filed against the archdiocese itself in the Geoghan case, including two suits filed last Friday. It now appears that the church moved Geoghan from parish to parish in the Boston area as allegations mounted up against him.

A poll of 800 Catholic churchgoers in Boston found most people believed Law had mishandled the affair. Just under half said it was time for him to stand down and take responsibility for the scandal.

- REUTERS