PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic News Service
October 25, 2018
An open letter to the U.S. bishops asks that at their Nov. 12-14 fall general meeting in Baltimore, they make it mandatory for bishops to become reporters of suspected sexual abuse.
“The nefarious actions of certain bishops surreptitiously transferring sexually abusive priests from parish to parish, and in some cases from diocese to diocese, without notifying civil authorities of the suspected abuse has been one of the most demoralizing elements of this crisis,” said the letter, from the Villanova University Task Force on the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Church.
“Children being abused by priests is tragic enough, but when our bishops, who are supposed to be our spiritual and moral leaders, not only abandon our children in their time of need but actually become complicit in that abuse by actively covering it up, we must ensure that effective and rigorous standards are instituted so that children will truly be safe,” the letter said. “American bishops should never have the option of looking the other way and remaining silent again.”
The open letter, posted on the university’s website, was signed by 13 members of the task force, and about 140 Villanova faculty members and senior officials.
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