Cardinal may lose job as Vatican probes sex abuse case

The head of the Catholic Church in Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, appeared to be in danger of losing his post yesterday as he held secret talks with officials at the Vatican on the crisis caused by a spiralling sex abuse scandal.

There was growing speculation that Pope John Paul II, exasperated with the unending flow of sordid revelations of rogue priests in Boston, was expected either to accept the resignation of Cardinal Law or to allow him to stay on but at the same time naming a successor.

Cardinal Law, who faces rebellion from among his own clergy, was quietly summoned to Rome at the weekend apparently to seek counsel.

Issues under discussion included the possibility of his resignation as well as provisional steps taken by his archdiocese to declare bankruptcy.

Pressure on Cardinal Law to step aside suddenly intensified a week ago when a court authorised the release to the public of thousands of previously sealed church documents detailing the troubled histories of several priests in the Boston area. The documents offer a lurid picture of pastors variously having children out of wedlock, engaging in sex with aspiring nuns and trading cocaine for sex with boys.

The documents visited more shame on the church at a time when it is already facing civil lawsuits from some 450 plaintiffs claiming they are victims of abuse by priests over four decades. The controversy around Cardinal Law was fuelled by reports that the archdiocese was on the brink of declaring bankruptcy. The step would be unprecedented in the history of the Catholic Church in America and would be designed to protect it from the financial repercussions of the civil suits.

An archdiocese financial panel allowed the cardinal permission last week to file for bankruptcy but he would also need permission from the Vatican before doing so. The archdiocese faces millions of dollars in claims from sexual abuse victims.

The Vatican would only issue a brief statement about the cardinal's visit. "The cardinal came to inform the Holy See about various aspects of the situation in his diocese of Boston," it said.

But observers predicted that Rome could take a middle road by naming a successor to Cardinal Law. While that would allow the cardinal to remain in his position in Boston for the time being – at least until the worst of the current crisis has passed – he would essentially become a lame duck.

The naming of a successor to a Bishop – formally known as a coadjutor – is not uncommon in the Catholic Church. According to Church law, the coadjutor has an automatic right of succession while initially dedicating himself to dealing with "certain personal problems experienced by the diocesan bishop".

Cardinal Law may have been impelled to travel to Rome because of signs of a growing rebellion from within his own archdiocese. A group of Boston priests began circulating a petition at the weekend calling for the cardinal's resignation. While it praises his leadership, it concludes that the release of the damaging documents last week make his withdrawal a "necessary step". The petition reads: "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 Reverend John Bullock, the leader of the 250-member Boston Priests Forum, said that he would wait to see how many priests signed the document before determining if there was a consensus on the need for Cardinal Law to remove himself.

About 400 protesters assembled outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, where Cardinal Law typically celebrates mass, to add their voices for the calls for his resignation. Some wielded placards with slogans that read, "How can you lead us if you won't even face us?" and "Bernard Law, you are fired".

Even as members of the congregation learned that Cardinal Law would not be leading the mass as usual, archdiocese officials were trying to keep his journey to Rome under wraps.

A spokeswoman refused to explain his whereabouts at a press conference in the basement of the cathedral on Sunday. But the secret was out a few hours later when a reporter in Rome spotted Cardinal Law in a restaurant.

It is the cardinal's second unannounced trip to Rome this year. In April, he met the Pope and offered to resign but came away determined to clean up the clergy sex abuse scandal.