Not Guilty Plea From Rev. Paul Shanley

A retired priest at the center of the church sex abuse scandal in Boston has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing four boys.

The Rev. Paul R. Shanley, 71, Wednesday entered his pleas to ten counts of child rape and six of indecent assault and battery. Bail was set at $300,000.

He is accused of abusing boys from 1979 to 1989 in Newton, a Boston suburb.

Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Boston released personnel files indicating that church officials had received complaints about Shanley dating back to 1967, and that Shanley had advocated sex between men and boys.

Cardinal Bernard Law has said he didn't know about allegations against Shanley until 1993.

The scandal erupted after it was disclosed that Law knew of accusations against former priest John Geoghan but continued to shuffle him between parishes. Geoghan is serving up to 10 years for molesting a boy and has been accused of abuse by 130 people.

A grand jury is investigating whether church leaders put priests in situations where they could abuse minors.

In New Jersey, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a man who claimed unwanted sexual advances from priests drove him out of seminary training can proceed with a lawsuit against the Diocese of Camden, which billed him to recoup its education costs.

Christopher McKelvey asked a court to relieve him of having to repay more than $69,000.

The diocese was considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, said spokesman Andrew Walton.

"The claims by the plaintiff date back almost a decade," Walton said. "They were investigated by diocese. The claims were not credible."