To read the report click on the relevant link.
Priest after priest. It's not a few 'bad apples'. It's much worse than that.
From The New York Times:
Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania, Report Says
The grand jury report is the government’s broadest look yet in the United States at child sexual abuse in the church.
Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania, Report Says
The grand jury report is the government’s broadest look yet in the United States at child sexual abuse in the church.
1 comment:
There are two distinct scandals here Firstly, the horrific number of abuse cases. Ghastly, of course, but sadly nothing new. And secondly the cover-ups, and the cover-ups of the cover-ups. This is a catastrophic failure in Church governance over decades ... and at the scale at which it has happened that failure has to be seen as systemic. And the reaction of Church authorities in the US (not to mention the Vatican which hasn't commented at all) isn't hopeful; various attempts to spin it, some pushing the narrative of "that was the bad old days and now everything's fine." Still trying to make it seem harmless, still - essentially - trying to cover up. If the pope does not speak out very openly - something like an abject confession of responsibility, and a clear instruction to all in positions of authority in the Church to cooperate completely and unequivocally with every investigation to bring this whole legacy into the open - then the Church will have lost the last shreds of credibility it still may have. This includes the full acceptance of liability - and its financial consequences. The Irish visit would be a highly appropriate occasion (as the archbishop of Dublin has already suggested). In fact, on reflection, if the pope does not substantially address the problem during his Irish visit, then that visit will have to be judged a failure.
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