PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National
One of the hallmarks of the sex abuse crisis was silence.
It went hand in hand with the secrecy of the culture of hierarchy.
Everyone in the club knew there were reasons for not saying anything. It was just a few bad apples. It would damage the church. It would cause scandal. It would harm the reputations of all the good priests. And on and on.
So it was refreshing to read of Fr. Robert McLaughlin, pastor of St. Basil the Great in Kimberton, Pa., part of the Philadelphia archdiocese, who was as angry and betrayed by the scandal as are most priests, especially when it hits home.
When the devastating report of the Philadelphia Grand Jury came out (NCR, Oct. 7), he was one of those -- and we understand there were at least a few others -- who, this time, refused to buy the line from the chancery office.