UNITED STATES
Crux
Christopher WhiteJune 11, 2016
CRUX CONTRIBUTOR
What supporters of legislation to extend the statute of limitations for suing the Church are hailing as “reform” actually threatens the institution that is now the very facilitator of responding to sexual abuse in the United States. If passed, these measures would directly imperil the local schools and parishes that have become the safest places for children in the country.
Almost fifteen years after the Boston Globe’s devastating reporting on clerical sexual abuse in the United States, the Church remains under scrutiny for its treatment of minors. Whereas the 2002 coverage exposed cover-up at the highest level of Church authority and provided a spotlight on a much-needed area of reform, today’s headlines should be offering a very different story.
Since then, the Church has enacted a zero tolerance policy for sexual abusers, and, if any priest commits a single act of abuse, he is forever removed from his ministry. On June 4, Pope Francis took an important step to take this policy even further when he outlined a plan for the removal of bishops who have been negligent in their handling of abuse cases.
In the United States, the Church has instituted mandatory background checks for any individual that works with minors-far surpassing the standards of any public institution. Every diocese in the U.S. has also established Safe Environment programs that are responsible for complying with canon and civil law, along with outside monitoring and oversight.
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