efusing to back down from his blunt words about Roman Catholic bishops, Frank Keating, former governor of Oklahoma, resigned yesterday as chairman of the church-appointed panel that is seeking to resolve the sexual abuse scandal involving priests and minors.

"I make no apology," said Mr. Keating, who compared some bishops to "La Cosa Nostra" last week, suggesting that they were continuing to cover up the extent of molestation by members of the clergy.

His comments drew immediate condemnation from the archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, as well as from members of Mr. Keating's own panel, the National Review Board. The board was appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to monitor compliance with anti-abuse policies established a year ago by the bishops.

In a letter to Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the conference and the man who appointed him, Mr. Keating said he had intended to give up the job after his first year anyway; the position has no time limit. But he came under swift pressure to step down immediately because of the comments. Cardinal Mahony said he and other bishops would raise questions at the bishops' semiannual meeting this week in St. Louis about Mr. Keating's comments.

For the time being, the board's vice chairwoman, Anne M. Burke, will take over as leader. She is a justice of the Illinois appellate court.

The resignation letter sounded the same law-and-order note that Mr. Keating, a former prosecutor and F.B.I. agent, has used from the beginning. That tone had set him at odds with other members of the board, which is made up of prominent Catholics and includes lawyers, business figures, a psychiatrist and a former White House chief of staff, Leon E. Panetta.

The church, he said in the letter, is a "home to Christ's people."

"It is not a criminal enterprise," Mr. Keating said. "It does not condone and cover up criminal activity. It does not follow a code of silence. My remarks, which some bishops found offensive, were deadly accurate. I make no apology.

"To resist grand jury subpoenas, to suppress the names of offending clerics, to deny, to obfuscate, to explain away; that is the model of a criminal organization, not my church."

A spokesman said Mr. Keating would not elaborate on his letter, which was released by the bishops conference.

When they were read the comments, several board members expressed dismay over what they called an excoriating tone.

"Wow!" said Dr. Paul McHugh, the psychiatrist on the board. "O.K., well, I don't see that behavior on the part of bishops at the moment. They're a chastened group."

Dr. McHugh, reflecting the view of several other board members interviewed, said it appeared that Mr. Keating might have felt that he could not carry on the responsibilities of the board along with a demanding job as president and chief executive of the American Council of Life Insurers in Washington.

"I think his reckless behavior in his verbiage reflects a lack of caring for the job he has, not being able to commit himself to it," Dr. McHugh said.

Pamela D. Hayes, a board member and a New York lawyer, said that Mr. Keating was giving a false impression about the behavior of bishops and that some of the actions he ascribed to the bishops were legitimate attempts to defend themselves in a legal case.

"Maybe Frank feels like that," Ms. Hayes said. "Maybe people appreciate the force of that language. But it's my sense you don't shame people into doing the right thing. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing."

Some board members had said last week that critics of the church would seize on Mr. Keating's resignation as a sign that the bishops were not serious about reform.

Mark Serrano, a board member of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, an advocacy and support group, said of Mr. Keating in a statement released yesterday: "If a layman of his prominence, skills and credentials can be forced out by a few thin-skinned bishops it's hard to be optimistic about the sincerity of church leaders and their pledges to do better on sexual abuse."

Mr. Keating, in his letter, acknowledged that most American bishops supported the board. He laid out its accomplishments: studying the causes and scope of the phenomenon of abuse; carrying out what it calls an audit of the nation's 195 dioceses to make sure they are putting new child protection policies in place; and creating the Office of Child and Youth Protection, led by a former F.B.I. official.

The presence of outside overseers, Mr. Keating said, will ensure that bishops will not tolerate sexual abuse and will refer all cases to law enforcement authorities.

Bishop Gregory responded to Mr. Keating's resignation by releasing a letter to him that was full of praise. He said Mr. Keating had made an "enormous contribution" to the church. The closest he came to mentioning the latest incident was a reference to an "intense environment" full of strong emotions and scrutiny by the news media.

"There were bound to be moments of difficulty," Bishop Gregory said.