Mr. Zwilling said he was not at the meeting where Monsignor Kavanagh says the cardinal issued a threat, but added, "I can't imagine the cardinal saying anything of that sort."

When the cardinals issued a statement targeting "notorious" predatory priests, that notorious protector of predators, Cardinal Bernard Law, was hiding in a friend's apartment inside the Vatican.

In 1987, when American cardinals issued a communiqué allowing that teaching about condoms might be an effective weapon against AIDS, the two issued a dissent.

At the end of two days of meetings with Pope John Paul II and other top Vatican officials on how to prevent clerical sexual abuse, American cardinals tonight issued a set of proposals intended to help remove priests who abuse minors.

The cardinals issued a special appeal for financial help to bishops around the world last March when the Vatican said that it expected the Holy See to run a decifit of about $63 million this year.

Much of the disappointment reflected the nature of the document that the cardinals issued.

The cardinal issued an order prohibiting any member of the clergy from delving into Krakow's secret police archives without his authorization.

In 1986, cardinals and bishops from 40 countries issued a protest letter when Vietnam barred Archbishop Dien from traveling to Rome to attend the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The cardinal also issued a letter to be read in all parishes acknowledging "mistakes, for which I am deeply sorry" and announcing the new commission.

Before Rosh Hashana last year, the cardinal issued a characteristic expression of sorrow for wrongs that he and fellow Catholics had done to the Jewish people, a statement widely publicized and welcomed by Jewish leaders.