Your thoughts on Cardinal Law and the abuse scandal

Some have suggested that Cardinal Bernard Law should resign for his failure to remove former priest John Geoghan from contact with children years ago, when Law first learned of allegations that Geoghan was abusing boys. The cardinal has apologized for his inaction, but said he will not resign. We asked Boston.com users if they are satisfied with what Cardinal Law has said and done in the matter thus far, and if he should resign.

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It causes myself and my entire family both sorrow and pain, but most all,we are embarrassed for our church, in which we care deeply about. Besides the unfortunate victims that have suffered unspeakable horrors, I also feel so very bad ,for the vast majority of the good and holy priests. We all look at theme in a different manner, and I am quite sure that they are aware of it. As part of this church I feel that we must speak out against this irresponsiblility of the powers to be, so I say that the Cardinal,and others who allowed these things to happen, must resign, and do it right away. I thank the Globe for bringing this to the light of day.
John, Canton

I will keep Cardinal Law in my prayers as he goes through this most difficult time for the Catholic church and himself. He is a wonderful, caring person and true leader of the Catholic people. He is doing all he can now and should definitely remain as the Boston Catholic leader.
Elaine, West Roxbury

It is baffling, to say the least, how such "Men of God" could turn a blind eye to the suffering of the most vulnerable of their community. Nothing can excuse the inaction of Cardinal Law and the numerous others within the Boston Archdiocese, when they knew about the years of allegations against John Geoghan, when they took reports of abuse from family members, and when they possibly even witnessed instances of abuse themselves. Surely someone who facilitates such horrible abuse is as guilty as the abuser? Reading the recently released letters published by the Globe was a sickening undertaking: They blessed each other while they damned those children. Cardinal Law should certainly resign.
Amy, Roslindale

This man is a liar and a fraud. He makes a mockery of the church, the priesthood, and the faith. He clearly still doesn't get it -- nor want to. The greatest service he could render, if he cares even a little, is to go away, the sooner the better.
Lori, Nashua, N.H.

Cardinal Law should accept responsibilities for his silence and poor judgment that put so many children at risk. There was a cover-up under his command, so the leader of Enron resigned, so should Bernard Law. Both of these men/leaders are unworthy of influential roles.
Jack, Malden

If Cardinal Law does not resign he should be removed from office by The Holy See. By failing to protect the children of his flock from a known sexual predator, Law can no longer be regarded as the moral leader/shepherd of the Catholic Church in Boston or anywhere else. His actions regarding this matter may amount to aiding and abetting the commission of felonies.
William, Medfield

I think Law should resign, but not now. This is time for him to fix his problem, face the victims and make sure the church will have the confidence from the congregation again. It is hard for us to trust the priest from the church because of their cover-up policy. Right now, the church is like a gang which protects their own people only. They described the troubled priest as "lost sheep" but disregard the other innocent sheep who are the congregation and could be you and me.
B.C., Southborough

There is no way that Cardinal Law cares about the children who have been abused. If he did, he wouldn't have sent a pedophile back to a parish again and again and again. There is NO WAY he did not know about the intractable nature of pedophilic desires. What then was his motivation? Shortage of priests? Saving face? His own ghosts? I can speculate, but I can never truly imagine what motivated his behavior in this case. I do know, however, that my children will never come within a 100 yards of a Catholic church under his control. He has failed his parishioners in an unforgivable way.
Anonymous, Reading

If Law believes what he is saying, that he now realizes that what he did was in error what does that say about him. He is supposed to be a leader in the Catholic church and he didn't understand that what he was doing was aiding and abetting criminal child abuse? why? Is the problem so widespread in the church that to deal with it would create more of a shortage of priests, or is the mere idea of public awareness of the churches imperfections too hard for him to take. Certainly he has not behaved according to the teachings of the church. He should resign if he has any true caring for the church and the future of the church in Boston. No one in his position could possibly as ignorant of the issues involved as he seems to be.
Lin, Beverly

I think Cardinal Law should resign. If he knew that there was a problem with a child molester in any parish that person should have received treatment for their problem not just put somewhere else. Did the Cardinal think that the problem would just disappear? I hope not. It shouldn't matter if you are enrolled in the church this matter needed some serious attention not just moved from parish to parish hoping the problem would go away. The responsible lies on the Cardinal and no one else because no one knew of this besides the church administrators themselves.
James, Clinton