Keep the Faith, Change the Church.

A Grand Jury report of widespread Catholic clergy abuse and coverup in Pennsylvania is no surprise

BOSTON, Mass., Aug. 15, 2018 – The findings of a grand jury in Pennsylvania that investigated sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy in six dioceses there cannot be called a surprise. Not after grand juries examining clergy sex abuse in two other Pennsylvania dioceses found the same pattern. Not after grand juries in other states and government commissions around the world have unearthed the same crimes and the same failures again and again.

More than 300 accused priests listed in Pennsylvania report on Catholic Church sex abuse

The report has helped renew a crisis many in the church thought and hoped had ended nearly 20 years ago after the scandal erupted in Boston. (The Washington Post)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday (Aug. 14) released a sweeping grand jury report on sex abuse in the Catholic Church, listing more than 300 accused clergy and detailing a ‘systematic’ coverup effort by church leaders over 70 years.

Albany bishop says laypeople should investigate misconduct by U.S. bishops

As fallout from Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s resignation continues, at least one bishop is saying what Voice of the Faithful has been saying for the past 16 years: give the laity a voice in the governance and guidance of our Church.

This is the way Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany, N.Y., put it in America magazine when talking about a “high-level panel” of the USCCB suggested by Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl to “evaluate allegations or rumors of sexual misconduct by one of its member bishops”:

Pennsylvania diocese releases full list of clergy accused of sex abuse, strips names of bishops from buildings / America: The Jesuit Review

In addition, “anyone accused of sexual misconduct will have his name removed from any place of honor,” (Bishop Ronald Gainer) said. (America: The Jesuit Review)

In a gesture meant to acknowledge the mishandling of sexual abuse against minors, buildings and rooms in the Diocese of Harrisburg honoring bishops dating back to 1947 will be stripped of their names, Bishop Ronald Gainer announced during a press conference at the diocese’s headquarters on Wednesday morning.