Former priest John J. Geoghan allegedly fondled or raped more than 130 grammar school boys during a three-decade spree through a half-dozen Greater Boston parishes. Cardinal Bernard F. Law knew about Geoghan’s problems in 1984, yet approved his transfer to St. Julia’s parish in Weston. Geoghan continued to abuse children for another three years. The article questions why it took a succession of three cardinals and many bishops 34 years to place children out of Geoghan’s reach.