Just when many of us wanted to believe that the Catholic Church had finally turned a corner in dealing with the clerical sexual abuse scandal/crime/outrage, the Pennsylvania attorney general published a grand jury report about 70 years of abuse in six dioceses, and the abuse of teens and adults committed by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was revealed.
Similar inquiries by attorneys general in several states, efforts to lift the statute of limitations in many states for this crime, and the February 21-24 summit at the Vatican for presidents of bishops’ conferences ensure that this issue will be in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.
St. Anthony Messenger and Franciscan Media have devoted years of coverage to the sex-abuse crisis. Here are a few of our offerings as well as additional resources from Catholic News Service. —Pat McCloskey, OFM