BOSTON -- There are more calls Wednesday for Cardinal Bernard Law to step down as head of the Boston Archdiocese following revelations that the local church hierarchy knew for decades that priests were allegedly sexually abusing children.

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NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that the cardinal has not yet responded since Monday's release of more than 800 court documents that showed the archdiocese knew since at least 1967 that its priest Paul Shanley was allegedly sexually assaulting young boys, but did nothing about it.

The archdiocese released a prepared statement saying it never had any intention to harm children, but the cardinal has not yet made any personal, public statement regarding the scandal.

Meanwhile, the Boston Globe has published an editorial calling for the cardinal's resignation, the first time the newspaper has done so.

The editorial says, " Law cannot ignore that too large a portion of the [local Catholic] community has lost faith in its leadership ... [revelations] eliminate any hope that the leadership of the Archdiocese of Boston can restore its credibility."

New Hampshire's largest newspaper, the Manchester Union-Leader is also calling for the Cardinal to step down, and Tuesday's Boston Herald for a second time called for Law to step down.

Two gubernatorial candidates, Democrats Warren Tolman and Robert Reich, have also said Law should resign, but former Boston Mayor and Vatican Ambassador Ray Flynn defended the Cardinal, going on ABC's Nightline to voice his support.

"Personally, I hope he stays and I hope he brings about the kind of changes and the reforms, so that what we saw happening in Boston will never happen again in our city or anyplace else, where young people are exposed to this type of predatory sexual behavior," Flynn said.

Attorney General Tom Reilly said he is devastated and disgusted by the documents that were released in the Shanley case. He has requested a meeting with archdiocese officials this week.

In the meantime, property records show that Shanley and another former priest bought a resort in Palm Springs, Calif., in 1990 that catered to the gay community. The property was bought a few months after Shanley was transferred out of the Boston archdiocese. It was sold in 1997.

Another priest who's been accused of assault, Fr. George Spagnolia, also ran a hotel catering to the gay community in Massachusetts. He and his partner ran an inn on Cape Cod during Spagnolia's hiatus from the priesthood. Spagnolia was suspended from his Lowell, Mass., parish after a single accusation of sexual abuse on a child. The case was closed because the statute of limitations had expired.