MASSACHUSETTS
WCVB
By Liam Martin
PEABODY, Mass. —For 14 years, Bernie McDaid has been urging the Catholic Church to address the clergy sex abuse scandal.
He says the new commission announced Saturday by the Vatican is a step in the right direction.
“I have my doubts. I have my hopes,” he told NewsCenter 5’s Liam Martin on Saturday afternoon in an exclusive interview at his Peabody home.
McDaid is a victim of clergy sex abuse. He went public with that abuse in the late 1990s, touching off a storm of controversy for the Catholic Church both in Boston and around the globe.
In December 2013 the new pope announced he would appoint a panel to advise him on better addressing the issue. The Vatican today announced the formation of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
It’s made up of three clergy and five laity. The laymembers include four women — one of whom is also a victim of abuse — a progressive makeup for a pope who has drawn both praise and criticism for often shirking tradition in his first year in office.
The eight members also include Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, who was at one point considered a potential candidate for pontiff.
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