UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register
NEWS ANALYSIS: Lessons learned from a harrowing, complex struggle to protect children by changing institutional culture.
by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND 11/04/2013
WASHINGTON — More than a decade after the clergy abuse crisis made headlines, Catholics remain aghast when they read fresh reports of predatory priests, innocence lost, and ambiguous or inadequate responses from local bishops.
Have we learned anything in the past 11 years?
“Yes,” say two experts who have approached the clergy abuse scandal from different vantage points. One man, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, led the Holy See’s investigation of clergy abuse cases from his post at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, while the other, Deacon Bernard Nojadera, implemented reforms in the Diocese of San Jose, Calif., before taking up his post as executive director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
From 2002-2012, then-Msgr. Scicluna, a civil and canon lawyer, served as the first promoter of justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He spearheaded the prosecution of a vast number of clergy abuse cases, including appeals by priests who contended that they had been wrongly accused.
On Oct. 16, Bishop Scicluna addressed the Canon Law Society of America at its annual meeting in Sacramento, Calif., and used that forum to provide often-pointed reflections about the Church’s ongoing effort to address clergy sexual abuse of minors. Deacon Nojadera outlined his views during an Oct. 21 interview with the Register.
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