PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Hawk
March 5, 2019
By Megan Piasecki
The world of Catholicism was turned on its head when Cardinal George Pell was convicted of sexual abuse against minors this past week and was refused bail.
This is just the latest account in the string of abuse charges against Catholic Church officials. Pell’s case is particularly jarring being that he is the highest ranked figure within the Church to be charged for sex abuse crimes towards minors.
Although the topic of abuse is deeply saddening, I think that it is incredibly important to see these men brought to justice and their victims speak out about the heinous crimes committed against them.
And Catholicism has taken a huge blow from these scandals.
As a devout Catholic, I do not believe every priest is a pedophile, however this stereotype does force me to look at the bigger issue at hand; this abuse has gone on for too long.
Although the issue is deeply rooted, we can work to combat the problem. A few ways to do so can be through supporting the victims so they can share their stories, as well as better vetting of our priests to prevent abuse like this from happening again.
The fact that it has taken this long for Church officials to be held accountable for their actions is despicable.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.