BOSTON, April 17 (UPI) -- Embattled Boston Cardinal Bernard Law met secretly with Pope John Paul II and other officials at the Vatican in recent days to discuss a widening scandal over child sexual abuse by priests.
The head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, in a statement faxed to news media late Tuesday night, said the focus of his meetings was "the impact of the (Rev. Paul R.) Shanley and other sexual abuse cases upon public opinion in general and specifically upon the members of the archdiocese.
"The fact that my resignation has been proposed as necessary was part of my presentation," the longest-serving American cardinal said.
A new poll, meanwhile, showed public opinion among Boston-area Catholics continuing to erode over Law's handling of the clergy sex abuse scandal.
The Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll released Wednesday showed 65 percent said Law should leave his job. That was up from 48 percent in February. Just 27 percent want him to stay, compared to 38 percent in the previous poll.
The new poll of 800 Catholics in the archdiocese also found 71 percent of those questioned believe the cardinal has done a poor job handling instances of sexual abuse of children by priests.
"Opinion toward Cardinal Law continues to erode, and the more people know, the more they believe he needs to leave," said pollster Gerry Chervinsky.
Law's trip to the Vatican was not made public until his return. While it was believed Law was in seclusion at his residence over the past two weeks to avoid public protests over the scandal, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said only that he was in "private meetings," but would not say where.
Law and seven other American cardinals have been summoned to the Vatican to discuss the scandals at meetings next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Vatican said in a statement the purpose of the unusual gathering is to examine "the problems that have arisen in the church in the United States following the scandals connected with pedophilia, and an indication of guidelines aimed at restoring security and serenity to families and to confidantes to the clergy and the faithful."
In his statement, Law said the pope and the Vatican officials he met with "are very conscious of the gravity of the situation."
As a result of his trip, Law said, "I return home encouraged in my efforts to provide the strongest possible leadership in ensuring, as far as is humanly possible, that no child is ever abused again by a priest of this archdiocese."
Law said he intends "to address at length" the record of the archdiocese's handling of these cases through the church-controlled Boston Catholic Television and The Pilot, its weekly newspaper.
That prompted criticism from Roderick MacLeish Jr., who represents some victims who claim they were abused by Shanley when they were children.
"The notion that the cardinal is going to respond to the horrific Paul Shanley case through media controlled by the archdiocese of Boston is both incomprehensible and pathetic," MacLeish told the Globe.
MacLeish was to ask the court Wednesday to order Law to be deposed, and for the archdiocese to turn over more documents in the case.
Law has come under fire in recent months for his handling of the Shanley case and that of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan, who is serving a 10-year prison term for molesting a boy.
Church records released so far indicate Law and other top church officials transferred Geoghan and Shanley from parish to parish even though they knew of their abusive histories.
