CALIFORNIA
San Bernardino Sun
By Brad A. Greenberg, Staff Writer
Local parishes trying to escape the shadow of distrust and contempt cast three years ago when the clergy sex-abuse scandal erupted now confront a fresh challenge a made-for-cable movie.
Showtime will air a full-length film May 21 that dramatizes how the Archdiocese of Boston protected pedophile priests. "Our Fathers' is expected to resonate with Catholics across the country.
In February, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reported 12,000 individuals have accused more than 5,000 priests of abuse dating back to 1950. At least 40 priests worked in the two-county area that became the Diocese of San Bernardino. The local diocese formed in 1978 from the Diocese of San Diego and includes San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Local Catholic officials insist "some good has to come' from the clergy sex-abuse scandal.
"And something good is coming out of this,' said the Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino. "We are becoming a holier and healthier church and are being known and trusted again as a church that both preaches and lives our Catholic faith.'
Posted by kshaw at May 10, 2005 04:35 AM