Time to prosecute abuse cover-ups in the Catholic Church

I fully agree that covering up pedophilia, transferring a notorious child rapist from parish to parish, denying access to Irish police to records, are surely crimes worth prosecuting.There are also many more worth prosecuiting

Years ago, I read "The Valachi Papers", which explained the origins & organization of La Casa Nostra. Joe Valachi described a scene in an orphanage, when he was 11. A Brother Abel had died, and was laid out on the altar. As each boy passed the body, he took turns spitting on the chest of Brother Abel. Apparently no other Brother was present, and I always thought this to be a morally depraved act, perpetuated by the boys. Now that the Church Scandal has been exposed, I understand the boys' action. Brother Abel was likely a pedophile, and should have been spat on in life, for starters!!

To silence the truth to protect the image is more damageing then the actual abusers who shold all be pulled from religious life and have their day in court with thoes that covered up the crime. Thoes that do not want to hear of it and look the other way are also part of the abuse problem. The abused children should bring suit for full damages even to the RCC administrators that forced a oath of silence on them.

We're Aisy about everything in life that's important that's why we're catholics in the first place.!!!

ALL involved, the actual perpretrator AND those who know and hide the truth, shoulc be hanged! I also blame the silly, stupid 'traditions' & 'policies' that would require a normal man (or woman), to never marry, have children, Etc., etc. Yahweh/God Himself formed us as sexual beings. He Himself created & defined 'marriage.' For some pope/church to put such a policy designed counterdistinctive against same is highly questionable. It CANNOT BE FOUND ANYWHERE IN SCRIPTURE; but ONLY in the policy of some man! He, too, is quility. When a man decides to become a priest, he seeks to serve, perhaps not fully realizing how powerfull his human created emotions might be! For a mere policy of man to interfer with same is a serious CRIME against our humankind as created & formed by Yahweh!

I think it is a scandle that the criminals and sinners who covered up for the abusers are neither being treated as sinners by the church nor criminals by the civil government.

Thank you Sister Maureen

When they defrock the sitting pope, then you will know they are serious. When Sister Maureen can be seen as the new leader of the church of peter/paula, it will signal the organization has cleansed itself. Until then it is only lip service and all associated with it labor under a cloud of suspicion and taint.

Where I live in N ireland nothing is being done in regard to the sexual and or physical abuse some of us lads recieved while in Catholic schools.Promises were made 2-3 years ago, not a word since,the church's continuing sexual abuse crisis in Ireland, seemingly never happened here. We suffer on.

The church's continuing sexual abuse crisis in Ireland mirrors much that is similiar in the United States and here as well the bishops, not counting Archbishop Bernard Cardinal Law who effectively kicked upstairs, have not been held accountable for their enabling, facilitating or covering up for sexual abusive priests of all stripes. Some of Cardinal Law's auxiliaries actually received dioceses of their own while others across the country cut deals with civil authorities to avoid prosecution. No, church leadership hasn't got it right yet and the pope's Christmas message is evidence of that. Why here in the U.S. we do not even have a bishop the caliber of Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Would that we did! The actions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops leave much to be desired and are definitely not to be considered any kind of a Gold Standard as far as the sexual abuse of anyone is concerned. Sister Maureen Paul Turlish Victims' Advocate New Castle, Delaware, USA maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com