The resignation last week of Cardinal Bernard Law as Archbishop of Boston has left Lawrence Catholics feeling a range of emotions, everything from sadness to a sense of hope

Some Catholics expressed reluctance to talk about the latest development in a yearlong sexual abuse scandal that has mushroomed to impact parishes across the nation.

Others who have followed the issue as it has spread from Boston, casting a shadow across the Roman Catholic clerical hierarchy in the United States, said their faith remains unaffected by recent events.

“I love my church. I love my faith; it sustains me,” said Rebecca Ford, a 34-year-old parishioner at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1234 Ky.

“If anything, (the scandal) makes me pray for our church, that the (Holy) Spirit will continue to work in it. Faith that God is working in the midst of this to bring about good.”

Steve Jansen was less optimistic about the Vatican’s acceptance of Law’s resignation.

“I don’t think he’s the first or the last (cleric to step down). There have been others elsewhere who have stepped down, and there are likely to be more in the future,” said Jansen, a longtime parishioner at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 6001 W. 15th St.

“I’m not into finger pointing and moral indignation. The dismissal of Cardinal Law, to me, is just a symptom of a larger problem that is still out there and is unaddressed.”

The reports that Law, the senior American cardinal, had resigned his position as archbishop caught Ben Beier off guard.

“I was a little surprised, but once I heard the news, I think the overwhelming feeling was just the hope that it’s the best thing for everyone — the church, the archdiocese, the victims, everybody,” said Beier, 20, a Topeka junior at Kansas University.

He is active at St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road.

“I was a bit surprised, but certainly the pope accepted the resignation, and with that there’s just kind of a trusting in the Holy Father’s decision,” Beier said.

Angie Evers, the church secretary at St. John and a parishioner there since 1995, saw the turn of events in Boston as something of a foregone conclusion.

“It was about time, and I don’t mean that sarcastically. There was such a public outcry earlier (when the scandal was uncovered) that it probably should have happened at that point,” said Evers, 38.

“Their whole community had asked for him to step down in a loud way. When the leader loses his credibility, the community needs somebody they can trust to lead them through this.”

Eve Herrera feels that Law’s resignation, given the situation in Boston, was the right step.

“I was not surprised, and I would say it was an honorable thing to do, I guess,” said Herrera, 26, a Spalding, Neb., graduate student in clinical child psychology at KU.

“There were obvious troubles that were going on, and I don’t know Cardinal Law’s exact involvement in that, but I do know he oversaw the people involved in the scandal. So I think it’s the appropriate thing for him to do, to resign.”

The missteps of Law and other clerics haven’t undermined Herrera’s spirituality, nor her connection to the Catholic Church.

“My faith ultimately doesn’t lie in any one person. It lies in Christ, in God. I do have a bit of trust that these people are leading me in that direction. But I also know that no one person, in and of themselves, is the church,” said Herrera, who is active at St. Lawrence.

Beier is trying to see the larger picture of the scandal in Boston and Law’s ensuing resignation.

“I suppose in looking at the history of the church, there’s just been many scandals and controversies that have arisen, but it’s always persevered,” he said. “Hopefully, it will be for the best.”