“As a result of what a civilian oversight official called a “common fraud,” misbehavior by bishops “flourished.” Bishops, the Globe and Inquirer say, routinely overlooked sexual abuse by their peers, ignored complaints of abuse brought to their attention, and in extreme cases like that of McCarrick, covered for each other.”
(Emily Zanotti – Daily Wire) A shocking new report compiled by a team of journalists from both the Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer alleges that at least one in three living, American Catholic bishops has been accused of failing to respond appropriately to claims of sexual abuse brought to their attention.
The report, over the weekend, offers a disturbing look into a Church hierarchy that was supposed to have been reformed in 2002, after the Boston Globe revealed that the Archdiocese of Boston had either covered up — or simply ignored — dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct against Boston priests.
Although much has been done to alleviate the possibility of sexual misconduct at the parish level, almost nothing has been done to root out misconduct among the Church’s administration, and bishops have been allowed to escape both accountability and punishment.
“More than 130 U.S. bishops — or nearly one-third of those still living — have been accused during their careers of failing to adequately respond to sexual misconduct in their dioceses,” the reporters claim. “At least 15, including Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington who resigned in July, have themselves been accused of committing such abuse or harassment.”
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Roman Catholic Church sex scandal