Associated Press WriterBOSTON (AP) -- Amid growing demands that he step down because of the sex scandal engulfing the church, Cardinal Bernard Law said Friday that he will continue serving the Boston Archdiocese "as long as God gives me the opportunity."

"I know there are people who believe my resignation is part of the solution," Law wrote in a letter to priests that was released by the archdiocese. "This distresses me greatly to have become a lightning rod of division when mine should be a ministry of unity."

"My desire is to serve this archdiocese and the church with every fiber of my being," he wrote. "This I will continue to do as long as God gives me the opportunity."

The 70-year-old prelate, one of the most powerful Roman Catholic officials in the country, has come under increasing pressure to resign since the scandal erupted in Boston in January. He has acknowledged that he transferred the Rev. John Geoghan to another parish despite knowing of sexual misconduct allegations against the now-defrocked priest.

Law has apologized and reversed a long-standing confidentiality policy. He has also turned over the names of more than 80 priests accused of abuse to authorities.

Despite those steps, he has lost the support of many prominent leaders in Boston's Catholic community. The archdiocese is the nation's fourth-largest, with more than 2 million Catholics.

The letter, addressed to "My dear brother priests," expresses regrets about the church's handling of the crisis.

"In a desire to encourage victims who might not desire to enter a criminal process to come forward to us, we did not communicate cases to public authorities," Law wrote. "While our reason for not doing so seemed reasonable, I am convinced it was not adequate."

However, Law also discussed steps the church has taken to address the problem. "We have now, I believe, in proper balance the three dimensions: the moral, the pathological and the criminal."

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