Quotations From People Involved in Church Sex Scandal

Some of the reaction to Roman Catholic Cardinal Bernard Law's resignation on Friday as archbishop of Boston:

"I am profoundly grateful to the Holy Father for having accepted my resignation as archbishop of Boston. 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. To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes, I both apologize and from them beg forgiveness."

— Cardinal Bernard Law, in a written statement released by the Vatican.

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"I pledge to do all I can with the help of the bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity of the archdiocese, to work towards healing as a church and furthering the mission of Jesus Christ within our community."

— The Most Rev. Richard G. Lennon, appointed apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Boston after Law's resignation.

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"Real closure is far off for the victims, their families and all that are hurt by the terrible pain of this ordeal. But today is the first step toward a new dawn in our hearts and in our church."

— Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

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"Thank heaven. I hope there will be thousands of Boston Catholics and hundreds of Boston survivors who will feel better as a result."

— David Clohessy, director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

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"I don't want to say I'm happy because I'm not. I truly believe in my heart that Law was not the only person who knew all the bad things that were going on."

— Anthony Muzzi Jr., who says he was molested by now-defrocked priest John Geoghan in the 1960s.

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"There is relief and there is hope, but ... there is a profound sense of sadness about this. What we have to do now is turn 180 degrees, use openness, not secrecy."

— Jim Post, president of Voice of the Faithful, a lay Roman Catholic group.

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"This is an extraordinary crisis we're going through, and it's not ending now. We have a daunting task of rebuilding, and that's going to take a lot of wisdom, and a lot of cooperation and effort by the church — not just the leaders, but by church members."

— The Rev. Robert Bullock, one of a group of Boston priests who asked Law to resign.

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"It's time for the city finally to begin the healing. The people who can really begin that healing is not the people in Rome but the victims of sexual abuse by the clergy here in Boston. Really, this has been a very contentious, divisive, ugly period of time in Boston's history."

— Former Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn, who later served as ambassador to the Vatican and has been one of Law's most fervent supporters.