BOSTON - Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as Boston archbishop Friday, begging forgiveness for the clergy sex abuse scandal that has plunged the U.S. Roman Catholic Church into a moral and financial crisis.
Law, the nation's senior prelate and head of the fourth-largest U.S. archdiocese since 1984, is the highest-ranking church leader to be toppled by the lurid behavior of rogue priests over the past several decades.
He became the most polarizing figure in the scandal that erupted in Boston nearly a year ago, prompting public fury over his failure to protect children from known and alleged molesters.
Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation after the two met Friday morning, the Vatican said. The pope named Bishop Richard G. Lennon, an auxiliary bishop in Boston, to run the diocese temporarily.
"It is my fervent prayer that this action may help the Archdiocese of Boston to experience the healing, reconciliation and unity which are so desperately needed," Law said in a statement released by the Vatican. "To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes, I both apologize and from them beg forgiveness."
Lennon takes over at a critical moment for the church. More than 400 alleged victims are suing the archdiocese, and Law has taken steps to allow it to file for bankruptcy protection.
The crisis in Boston was touched off in January when it became clear in court papers that Law had reassigned former priest John Geoghan despite numerous accusations of sex abuse. The scandal quickly spread to dioceses across the country, as more victims came forward and Catholics demanded greater accountability from their leaders.
At least 325 priests of America's 46,000 priests have been removed from duty or resigned this year because of molestation claims.
Law first offered his resignation to the Pope in April, but the pontiff rejected the idea, and Law returned in hopes of putting the scandal behind him and the archdiocese. But instead, as even more sordid details became known, the scandal intensified.
The turning point came in the past two weeks. Thousands of pages of archdiocese personnel files were released in waves, offering disturbing details of misdeeds by priests, and the archdiocese — for the second time in several months — floated the idea of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The day after he was subpoenaed to testify before a state grand jury, Law this past weekend quietly slipped away to begin a round of meetings with top officials at the Vatican. In his absence, 58 Boston-area priests openly rebelled, signing a letter asking him to step down.
"This is an extraordinary crisis we're going through, and it's not ending now," said the Rev. Robert Bullock, one of his critics. "We have a daunting task of rebuilding, and that's going to take a lot of wisdom and a lot of cooperation and effort by the church — not just from the leaders, but from church members."
The scandal prompted the formation of a laity group called Voice of the Faithful, which was started by a handful of Catholics in the basement of a Wellesley church and now claims 25,000 members across the country.
Jim Post, president of the group, said Law's resignation brought relief and hope, but also sorrow. He said he believes Law thought he was doing the right thing when he kept allegations against priests secret and tried to deal with offending priests within the church structure.
"The great sadness here was that ... everything he was doing was sowing the seeds for where we are today," Post said.
The 71-year-old Law — one of the pope's closest American advisers — will remain a cardinal, which means he could move into another church post. He retains the right to vote in a papal election, until he turns 80.
The pope was described by a Vatican official as "deeply saddened" by the whole affair.
Still, Law's resignation does not free from him from the lawsuits pending in Boston, nor from a subpoena to testify next week before a grand jury.
While many victims had been strident in their criticism of Law and had called for his resignation months ago, some were more subdued Friday.
"I really believe this is only a first step," said Mark Keane, 33, of Merrimack, N.H., who said he was molested by Geoghan when he was 12 years old. "There are a lot of other people who were involved, a lot of other bishops. I just hope that it's a new beginning for the archdiocese in Boston."
Law's temporary replacement, Lennon, offered prayers for the victims of sex abuse and pledged Friday "to work towards healing as a church and furthering the mission of Jesus Christ within our community."
Church commentators immediately began speculating on which U.S. bishop will be picked to run the huge and devastated archdiocese now that Law is gone. Though Lennon is a possibility, the pope and his advisers might prefer someone from another diocese.
Among those mentioned as having management skills and a relatively good record on abuse: Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul, Minn.; Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of the military archdiocese; Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill.; Bishop Sean O'Malley of Palm Beach, Fla.; Pittsburgh's Bishop Donald Wuerl; and a conservative favorite, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput.