UNITED STATES
Counter Punch
by DAVID CLOHESSY
When Pope Francis lands in the US this month, news reports will tout his latest pledge regarding the continuing abuse and cover up in the church: a first-ever tribunal that will reportedly consider cases of complicity by Catholic officials in child sex crimes by clerics.
But few if any news accounts will look at a more simple but equally crucial part of the crisis: how US church authorities are abiding by a much earlier pledge: to remove credibly accused predator priests from ministry.
This won’t be examined because it’s considered “old hat”. It’s become a widely accepted truism that since 2002, bishops in this country promptly oust clerics who are alleged abusers when the first report of wrongdoing surfaces.
This does happen, of course. But not nearly as often as it should. Today, 13 years after the “Dallas Charter” and its alleged “one strike and you’re out” provision, dozens of priests remain on the job across the US who should not be.
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