PROVINCETOWN - A group of demonstrators in front of town hall yesterday had two primary messages they hoped to get across: The sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is not a "gay" issue and girls are victims as much as, if not more than, boys.

"The Vatican has been calling this a gay problem," said Susan Renahan, who said she had been abused by her parish priest for three years between the ages of 11 to 14. "It's not a gay problem, it's a Catholic problem."

Renahan was among about 15 people holding signs and making speeches for about an hour beginning just before noon. Most of them were members of STTOP, which stands for Speak Truth To Power, a grass roots group organized to force the church to address years of abuse by pedophile priests and punish those protecting them.

Although similar protests are usually held on church steps in parishes around Boston, where allegations of priest child abuse are loudest, the group ventured to the tip of Cape Cod to show support and solidarity with residents outraged that the Catholic crisis has landed accused pedophile Paul Shanley in their midst.

Shanley, who is accused of 10 counts of child rape in one of the most notorious abuse cases facing the Boston Archdiocese, came to Provincetown last week after family, friends and supporters managed to raise $300,000 for his bail. His arrival there has angered many residents, prompting some to paper the town with flyers to alert their neighbors

Renahan, who now lives in Southbridge, had lived in Provincetown for 17 years until 1986. When she learned that Shanley would be released into the community, she decided to return.

"It is such a dagger in the heart of Provincetown," Renahan said.

By taking up residence in a community with a sizable gay population, Renahan said Shanley is only fueling the implication that priests who commit sexual abuse are doing it because they are gay. Nothing is further from the truth, she said.

John Harris, a 45-year-old gay man from Norwood, said he knows the difference between a sexual abuser and a homosexual firsthand.

In 1979, Harris, who had been raised Catholic, said he went to Shanley for pastoral counseling when he began to recognize that he was homosexual. During the meeting, Harris said, "the pastoral care I got was a rape. . . It was a critical time in my life, I needed a mentor."

As a result, Harris said he developed a drinking problem, and suffered from severe depression.

Renahan said another major problem with the sex abuse scandal in the church is the lack of recognition for women victims. She said about 50 percent of the victims are women, yet the attention seems to be focused on men. She also believes cases of girls who have been abused are under-reported because women are intimidated by the church and their families to keep quiet or be ashamed.

Renahan said while STTOP members see the fall of Cardinal Bernard Law as a major victory, the group plans to continue to focus its attention on church leaders implicated in coverups within the Boston Archdiocese.

"Law was a big domino," she said. "Next, there is Bishop McCormack in New Hampshire."

Renahan said the New Hampshire bishop's signature is on numerous documents linking him to the effort to shield abusive priests.