Well, if I were to say that an orange is a citrus fruit, Jim Carroll would find a way to disagree with me. And then if I agreed with what he said to the contrary, he'd disagree with me again.

As I have said before, the primary responsibility for all of these things lies in the hands of the local bishop. Many others share the blame, including law enforcement authorities who looked the other way and parents who were afraid to contact the authorities. Despite appearances to the contrary, the Catholic Church is not an absolute monarchy ruled from Rome. There is an enormous amount of local autonomy in all matters but doctrine. Nonetheless, John Paul II was in a position to do something because of the great power he had amassed during his lengthy reign, and he didn't even acknowledge that there was a crisis. Benedict XVI, on the other hand, made a significant response to the child molestation scandal (even before he was elected Pope) - and Francis has continued that effort.

All of the is quite factual - I've studied the politics of the Catholic Church since my seminary days in the 1960s. But Mr. Carroll is duty-bound to disagree with my every word.

-Joe-