Priests renew commitment to church as more allegations of sexual abuse emerge

BOSTON (AP) _ In an annual pre-Easter ceremony, Cardinal Bernard F. Law spoke to hundreds of priests about the ``sickness'' in their ranks that has harmed children and shaken trust in the Roman

Wednesday, March 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BOSTON (AP) _ In an annual pre-Easter ceremony, Cardinal Bernard F. Law spoke to hundreds of priests about the ``sickness'' in their ranks that has harmed children and shaken trust in the Roman Catholic Church.

As the priests renewed their seminary vows Tuesday, Law offered reassurance about the sex abuse scandal, saying, ``Your courageous witness of faith and love stand as a beacon of hope for the future.''

The scandal emerged in Boston in January with the revelation that former priest John J. Geoghan had been moved from parish to parish following accusations of sexual abuse.

Since then, the Boston Archdiocese has provided prosecutors with the names of about 80 priests accused of sexually abusing children over the past 40 years.

The church's past came under more scrutiny in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday during a tearful news conference. A man named David Carney came forward to claim he was abused by the former vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Boston as a teen-ager 20 years ago.

Carney says Monsignor Frederick J. Ryan abused him while serving as chaplain to their high school. Ryan, who was serving as vicar of 16 parishes, was placed on leave when it emerged that Garry Garland, a former classmate of Carney's, was accusing Ryan of abuse.

Carney shielded himself from the rain with an umbrella and cried before being coaxed toward reporters. He was asked to describe the difficulty of coming forward.

``I can't,'' he said. ``I can't describe it.''

Garland also alleges that Law's predecessor, the late Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, fondled him just before Ryan led him away to the priest's quarters.

The cardinal has accused Garland of assassinating Medeiros' character, and Garland's credibility has been questioned because he did not name Medeiros in the lawsuit.

``You can assassinate my character all you want. But I'm here,'' he said Tuesday. ``I'll take the bullet. I'll stand up for any victim.''

Ryan did not return a telephone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Garland said he decided to come forward about a month ago while he was being treated for alcoholism and depression. He said Tuesday that the ``shame and guilt'' had prevented him from going public.

``It took me 24 years to come to grips with this,'' he said.

The Rev. Christopher Coyne, speaking after Law exited Mass to rousing applause, expressed doubt about the allegations against Medeiros.

``The dead can't defend themselves,'' said Coyne, chief spokesman for the archdiocese.

In Los Angeles, District Attorney Steve Cooley, in a letter released Tuesday, reminded the leader of the nation's largest Catholic archdiocese that state law requires him to report any instances of child abuse by clergy.

Cooley referred to a report in the Los Angeles Times earlier this month that said Cardinal Roger Mahony had removed six to 12 priests because of past sexual abuse.

``I have been unable to determine if any allegations of known or reasonably suspected child abuse, involving the priests recently reported to have been dismissed or forced into retirement, were communicated to the appropriate agency,'' Cooley wrote.

In a letter, Mahony wrote, ``To the best of my knowledge, allegations of known or reasonably suspected instances of child abuse or neglect were reported to the appropriate agency.''

In other developments Tuesday:

_A priest in a suburb north of Chicago resigned Tuesday amid new sex abuse allegations, Cardinal Francis George of the Chicago Archdiocese said. Officials would not give the priest's name or any other details.

_The Archdiocese of Cincinnati said it would cooperate with a county prosecutor's investigation into possible sex crimes involving priests or other church employees.