Scandal-plagued Boston cardinal resigns

After months of mounting pressure to resign, Cardinal Bernard Law stepped down in disgrace Friday as the archbishop of Boston.

He asked people to forgive him for his mistakes, which critics said included not stopping some priests for sexually assaulting children for decades.

Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation after he and Law met Friday morning, the Vatican said. Law had been the top priest in Boston since 1984.

"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."

Law has spent the past several days at the Vatican, leading to speculation that he would seek advice about the archdiocese declaring bankruptcy or his resignation.

• FROM DEC. 9, 2002: Boston cardinal's trip leads to speculation

People who say they've been abused, some Catholics and even some priests in Boston had called for Law to resign after it was revealed that he and other Church leaders shuffled members of the clergy accused of sex offences from parish to parish.

Law offered to resign in April but the Pope asked the cardinal to stay on.

"It is an extraordinary event for a cardinal to resign, but the Cardinal Law's position in Boston had become untenable," said Vatican journalist Gerald O'Connell.

Some Catholics welcomed the resignation, predicting Law would be forgiven for not taking firmer action to stop the alleged abuse against children over decades.

But a lawyer representing victims said no tears should be shed for Law. Thousands of lives were ruined by the molestation and rape of children, he said, and cardinal should have done much more to stop it.

The Pope appointed Bishop Richard Lennon, an auxiliary bishop in Boston, to run the diocese temporarily.

Though Law is out as archbishop of Boston, he remains a cardinal in the Church.

There are 400 plaintiffs suing the archdiocese. It's already paid out $10 million to settle previous charges.

The state attorney general's office says Law's resignation doesn't put an end to the investigation of the allegations.