BishopAccountability.org
	Thousands Are Deserting the US Catholic Church CathNews November 25, 2011 http://www.cathnewsindia.com/2011/11/25/thousands-are-deserting-the-us-catholic-church/ Two million faithful “flee” Rome. The sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have caused a haemorrhage of faithful in the United States. 3% of U.S. Catholics have left the Church because of the paedophile priest scandal, according to a study conducted by Daniel M. Hungerman for the University of Notre Dame. And those who benefit the most from this crisis in American Catholicism is the Baptist denomination. Guido Mocellin, in the magazine of the Dehonian Fathers “Il Regno” warned of a “credibility crisis” in the U.S. Church. The fault is above all in the line of omissive conduct applied by the episcopate before the “zero tolerance” rule imposed by Benedict XVI. For years, the American bishops have, in fact, tried to cover guilty priests by dealing with the compensation of victims outside the courtroom, instead of reporting all cases they became aware of, to the legal authorities and instead of removing the accused from their pastoral duties. The public admission made by bishops of their previous failure or inadequacy in the face of sexual violence against minors committed by priests, came too late.
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