Free Republic

Filed at 4:25 p.m. ET BOSTON (AP) -- A judge Monday ordered Cardinal Bernard Law to give a deposition on Wednesday in the civil litigation against John Geoghan, the now-defrocked priest accused of molesting scores of youngsters. Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney expressed concern that Law might not be available to answer questions under oath unless the deposition were held soon. ``His choice of whether he available for deposition is not entirely belonging to him,'' she said. ``If the pope tells him to go to Rome, he goes.'' She denied a request by the archdiocese for a seven-day notice before...

<p>OPE JOHN PAUL II will wrap up his summit with American cardinals today on the priest sexual abuse scandals. That the pope has called for this meeting is a sure sign that he has recognized the dire straits in which the American Catholic Church leadership is, even if some members of that leadership do not.</p>

Before we breathe a sigh of relief now that many of the allegations against John Geoghan have been settled, we must realize two things: there are outstanding allegations against six other archdiocesan priests; and these scandals have raised serious questions in the minds of the laity that simply will not disappear. --Should celibacy continue to be a normative condition for the diocesan priesthood in the Western (Latin) Church? --If celibacy were optional, would there be fewer scandals of this nature in the priesthood? --Does priesthood, in fact, attract a disproportionate number of men with a homosexual orientation? --Lastly, why are...