Boston ? In his first public court appearance since the sexual abuse scandal erupted here in January, Cardinal Bernard Law insisted Friday that an announced multimillion-dollar settlement with dozens of alleged victims was never final.

As the cardinal defended the decision to back out of a $15 million to $30 million accord with 86 adults who claim they were molested by former priest John J. Geoghan, church officials here said they might file for bankruptcy if the massive settlements are upheld.

Cardinal Bernard Law, center, appears in Boston's Suffolk Superior Court for a hearing regarding his knowledge and handling of the Father John Geoghan child sex abuse case. Law testified Friday in open court that a 0 million settlement with sex abuse victims was only a proposal, not a firm offer. Law's aide the Rev. John Connolly is seen at left.

“It is true that in the process of considering all possible options in pursuit of a global settlement, legal counsel has been authorized to review how bankruptcy law might apply to the archdiocese,” Archdiocese Chancellor David W. Smith said in a statement released late Friday.

Although the cardinal has been deposed repeatedly in civil lawsuits since the scandal began, those hearings were closed. On Friday the nation’s senior Catholic prelate took the stand under oath like any other witness and in open court was forced to read aloud a newspaper article in which he praised the agreement as “an important step in reaching closure.”

The cardinal, in a black suit and Roman collar, was on the stand for more than two hours on the second day of a hearing to determine if the agreement is binding on the archdiocese.

Under questioning from the attorney representing Geoghan’s alleged victims, Law said the settlement was tentative because not all of them had signed off on it. He said the church withdrew from the agreement after financial advisers said the price was too steep and because so many other alleged victims who had stepped forward would expect comparable compensation.

“I saw it as a proposed settlement that would become effective with the necessary signatures,” Law testified.

When attorney Mitchell Garabedian demanded to know why Law did not use the word “proposed” in a March 15 editorial in the diocesan paper, The Pilot, the cardinal replied: “I did not use that word as a qualifier. I wish obviously now that I had used it. It would have expressed the intent of my words more effectively.”

Law and the archdiocese now contend that they are seeking a “global” settlement that would cover all clerical abuse victims. No figure has been cited, but church officials have stressed their goal of “fair and equitable” agreements that do not favor one group of victims at the expense of others.

Donations to the archdiocese have dropped substantially since the scandal began. After a report Friday in the Boston Globe that the archdiocese was considering filing for bankruptcy if it was required to pay huge settlements, Smith said, “What is in place is a study at the level of legal counsel. No recommendation has been received, nor, obviously, has any decision been taken.”

The public discussion of church finances was the latest in a series of embarrassments for the nation’s fourth-largest archdiocese. Law’s own appearance before Judge Constance Sweeney, meanwhile, refueled the heated controversy over the cardinal’s role in the clerical abuse scandal.

Documents made public by the Boston Globe showed the archdiocese knew of the long history of pedophilia accusations against Geoghan.