UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture
By Phil Lawler Mar 10, 2016
After simmering for more than a decade, could the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church be ready to boil over once again? There are signs that it could.
No, I am not referring to the release of a scalding grand-jury report about the Diocese of Altoona, Pennsyvlania earlier this month. That report was disturbing, but the facts were not fresh; the criticism focused on two retired bishops, one of them deceased. There was no evidence in the report about current problems, or any alleged criminal acts were not covered by the statute of limitations.
Nor do I mean the grueling interrogation of Cardinal George Pell by an Australian royal commission. The questioning was undoubtedly hostile, and the media in Australia vilified the cardinal mercilessly. But when the ordeal ended, there was no clear evidence of wrongdoing by Cardinal Pell: only very clear evidence that his accusers has abandoned the presumption of innocent-until-proven-guilty and that members of the royal commission saw themselves as inquisitors rather than investigators.
Finally, I do not mean the rave reviews for Spotlight, and the Oscar-night calls for changes in the Church. The movie is also looking back as past clerical misconduct; it is not an indictment of current practices.
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.