It's hard to get newly outraged by yet another report of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The numbers from Germany may not have come out until now, but I have expected for years that the number would be substantial. It surprises me that the Guardian article says the first case of sexual abuse in the Catholic church in Germany was uncovered about 10 years ago. I would have thought that it was known in the 1980s that this was a worldwide problem. I have heard from a number of priests that they never knew of any sexual abuse at the time it was happening, and I believe them. This is a crime that is extremely difficult to detect, a crime that the victims often cannot report until years after it has happened. Without denying at all the seriousness and extent of these crimes, I am not convinced that anyone knows how to respond to them in a constructive manner. Just what can anyone do about a forty-year-old crime? I am convinced that over the last 15 years, the Catholic Church has made honest efforts worldwide to prevent future instances. It appears that these efforts have been reasonably effective in reducing the numbers of these crimes. -Joe-
|