An open rebellion in the Archdiocese of Boston widened on Tuesday as an influential priest said more clergymen would urge Cardinal Bernard Law to resign over his handling of clergy sexual abuse.
Catholic theologians and historians said it was entirely appropriate to use words like ``revolt'' and ``rebellion'' to describe the situation in the archdiocese after 58 priests on Monday delivered a letter to Law's residence asking him to step down.
It was the first time that a group of clergy had formally called for Law to resign after revelations that he and other church leaders shuttled priests accused of pedophilia from parish to parish.
The beleaguered cardinal did step down on Tuesday as chairman of the board of trustees for Catholic University of America, the Washington, D.C.-based school said.
While the announcement fueled speculation that the senior U.S. prelate may also be on the verge of resigning as leader of the Boston archdiocese, Catholic University noted that Law had said in October he would not seek a fifth term as chairman when his term expired this year.
In Massachusetts, the Rev. Robert Bullock, who is chairman of the largest forum of Roman Catholic clergy in the archdiocese and is among the 58 priests who signed the original letter, said at least half of the estimated 600 active diocesan priests in the archdiocese believe Law should step aside.
``It's becoming an increasingly common opinion,'' said Bullock, head of the Boston Priests' Forum. He said the forum planned to reissue the letter in the coming week.
Another priest who signed the letter, the Rev. Stephen Josoma, reckoned that most of the diocesan priests who have not yet formally called for Law's ouster nonetheless believed he must step down for the good of the church.
``I'm convinced that, of the 550 or so who haven't signed, most of them in their heart of hearts want him to resign but they're just hoping he will do it himself,'' Josoma said. ``It's a difficult phenomenon to explain.''
DIOCESE AVERTS CRIMINAL INDICTMENT
As the crisis escalated in the Boston archdiocese, the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire narrowly avoided a criminal indictment on Tuesday by striking a deal with state prosecutors who had investigated its handling of pedophile priests.
Under the terms of the settlement, the diocese acknowledged that some of its decisions resulted in children having been victimized, Assistant Attorney General Jim Rosenberg said.
Had the diocese not made the agreement, the state would have asked a grand jury to indict the church on misdemeanor charges of child endangerment.
New Hampshire prosecutors in February began looking into allegations by more than 100 people who said they were abused by 40 priests from the diocese.
The settlement in New Hampshire came amid outrage in Massachusetts over a report that the Rev. Paul Shanley, accused of some of the most shocking disclosures in the current crisis, could be freed from jail within days after an unidentified person raised enough money to allow him to post bail.
Rodney Ford, the father of one of Shanley's alleged victims, urged prosecutors to fight efforts to free Shanley, whom he called a flight risk. Shanley's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
Shanley pleaded not guilty in June to charges he had raped and assaulted four young boys in the rectory and other parts of a Boston-area church during religious classes.
Prosecutors said that if Shanley were to post bail, he would have to surrender his passport and would be required to stay Massachusetts.
Long-simmering anger at Law boiled over last week after archdiocese personnel files released by lawyers for Shanley's alleged victims yielded tales of pedophilia, adultery and drug use by priests.
Church sources told Reuters on Monday the Vatican may take the unusual step of naming a successor to Law even if he does not resign in a bid to defuse the crisis that has engulfed the archdiocese since January.
There was also talk that the cardinal may ask Vatican leaders for permission to file for bankruptcy protection as a way of dealing with the estimated 450 clergy sexual abuse lawsuits it faces.