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 has devoted years of coverage to the sex-abuse crisis. Here are a few of our offerings. —Pat McCloskey, OFM
Victims No More (June 2003) by Christopher Heffron and Mary Jo Dangel
They Just Couldn’t Resist (May 2014) by John Feister
Instrument of Peace (September 2015) by Donis Tracy
It’s Time to Speak Up (January 2018) by Susan Hines-Brigger
It’s Time, Holy Father (October 2018) by Pat McCloskey, OFM
