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	Catholic Church Must Own up to Shame The Hartford Courant April 29, 2010 http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-catholic-church-sex-abuse.artapr30,0,232532.story Revelations about Catholic priests sexually abusing children have become depressingly common. The church's response too often has been to conceal this criminal activity and quietly move priests to new assignments, where the sexual assaults often continued. Priests have molested tens of thousands of children in Ireland, according to government reports there, and elsewhere — including many in Connecticut. In an egregious case that came to light recently, a priest from India was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Minnesota. He returned to India, where he continued to serve as a priest despite warnings that he was a threat to children. Other cases are making news across Europe. In recent months, several bishops have resigned, including two who admitted they sexually abused children years ago. That housecleaning was long overdue and should continue. For decades, church authorities were so worried about possible scandal that they forgot about their duty to protect children. Pope Benedict XVI has apologized for the abuse and vowed to take stronger action to deal with the crisis, but his overall response has been tardy and disappointing. He still has not fully explained his role, while serving as archbishop of Munich, in a 1980 case involving an abusive priest who was sent away for therapy but soon returned to pastoral work, where he continued to molest children. The toll on victims includes depression, drug abuse, broken marriages and loss of faith. They are understandably angry at the appalling lack of accountability. The Vatican recently ordered bishops to comply with civil laws that require them to report abuse to authorities. There is no good reason why priests should be treated differently from other sexual abusers, who frequently serve prison terms for their heinous crimes.As church defenders note, these despicable acts are not limited to priests. Many boys and girls are abused by relatives, neighbors, teachers and other trusted adults. But that does not excuse or mitigate the horror of men in Roman collars assaulting children in their care. To regain credibility, the church, all the way to Rome, must candidly acknowledge the extent of the worldwide scandal. It must discipline those who covered up abuse. Pope Benedict XVI could take a big step toward greater transparency by appointing an independent commission with no ties to the Vatican to conduct an impartial investigation and propose specific steps to reach out to victims, many of whom feel abandoned by the church they trusted.
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