BOSTON -- Cardinal Bernard Law's deposition in the John Geoghan case is scheduled to continue Friday.

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Law is testifying in a lawsuit filed by 86 people who said that the cardinal and the Boston Archdiocese failed to protect youngsters from defrocked priest John Geoghan.

For five hours Wednesday, the cardinal answered questions under oath about what he knew and when he knew it. He called the sex abuse scandal "an exceedingly painful, complicated mess" in day one of his deposition.

Alleged victims' attorney Mitchell Garabedian described Law's demeanor on "Good Morning America" Thursday.

"(It was) at times serious, at times he was very sad, at times he was joking. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable with the questions that were before him," Garabedian said.

Law was asked about a 1984 letter he received from a woman, about Geoghan, who admitted molesting her three nephews and four grandnephews.

"We do not accuse this priest of sin, since we are all sinners, but rather here we speak of crime," the letter read.

Law said he did not recall receiving this letter.

"This is a shocking incidence. A woman sends him a letter in 1984 saying seven family members have been sexually molested -- seven relatives -- and yet he doesn't remember it," Garabedian said.

The cardinal admitted that the letter had his handwriting on it.

"It says, 'Urgent. Please follow through,'" Law said in his deposition.

"He didn't seem to recall the circumstances around the abuse alleged at that time," Garabedian said.

Geoghan was passed on from parish to parish, each move signed off by Law.

"I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this letter would never have been put before me for signature had we not had the assurance of someone competent to give that assurance that this assignment was safe," Law said.

"There was one doctor he had the name of and we're questioning the doctor's expertise in the area. Whether he had a friendship with someone within the church and there are a lot of questions there," Garabedian said.

The next round of questioning in the deposition is scheduled for Friday, at Law's residence.