"Given our present financial condition," he explained, "we are asking for more rigor to the process to make sure that the people we're compensating are victims of abuse by Boston priests."

But he found himself confronted by suggestions that 20 years ago he helped to hide a scandal involving a Boston priest who molested boys.

The Boston priest, John Geoghan, has since been defrocked and was convicted of molestation.

A total of 19 Boston priests have now been removed from their duties this year after being accused of sexual abuse.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts, in fact, used a similar argument recently in one of their cases against John Geoghan, the former Boston priest accused of molesting nearly 200 people over three decades.

Her most recent novel, Faith (2011), tells the story of a suburban Boston priest accused of molesting a boy in his parish.

He has been named in lawsuits brought by victims of Boston priests and was summoned to appear before a grand jury there this week.

He was later accused of taking too little action in handling John Geoghan, a Boston priest who allegedly molested over 130 children during his ministry.