The Archdiocese of Boston is in a state of open rebellion today after 58 priests took the unprecedented step of asking Cardinal Bernard Law to resign in a letter delivered to the senior US prelate's residence.
The delivery of the letter marked the first time that a group of clergy had formally called for Cardinal Law to step down following revelations that he and other church leaders shuttled priests accused of paedophilia from parish to parish.
One of the priests accused of some of the most shocking disclosures in the current crisis, Rev Paul Shanley, could be released on bail as early as today, law enforcement sources said.
Rev 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. A former Boston archdiocese leader - the Rev Thomas Daily, now bishop of Brooklyn - said in a sworn deposition earlier this year that the church knew Shanley had advocated sex between men and boys when it promoted him to lead a parish in 1983.
Long-simmering anger toward Cardinal Law boiled over last week after archdiocese personnel files released by lawyers for Rev Shanley's alleged victims yielded sordid tales of pedophilia, adultery and drug use by priests.
The documents revealed one priest was assigned to two parishes despite his record of molesting boys, another molested young girls while telling them he was the living embodiment of Jesus Christ and a third fathered two children and did not immediately call for help when their mother overdosed.
Priests who signed the letter confirmed a report in today's Boston Globethat their statement had been delivered to Law's residence yesterday evening.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Ms Donna Morrissey declined to comment, saying any communication between priests and the cardinal was private.