Connect the World
March 25, 2010
http://connecttheworld.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/25/what-has-the-abuse-scandal-done-to-you-as-a-catholic/
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| Has this affected your view of the Catholic Church? |
The Catholic Church is continuing to deal with allegations that members of its clergy were involved in child abuse cases stretching back nearly 20 years.
Hundreds of allegations of abuse of children by Catholic clergy have come to light in places like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands so far this year.
Ireland has also been badly shaken by widespread reports of child abuse, physical and sexual, by Catholic clergy going back at least seven decades.
Two bishops have resigned over the scandal, and Pope Benedict XVI issued a special pastoral letter on Saturday saying he was deeply sorry for the abuse.
The Vatican has also publicly said it didn't learn of an American priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys until 20 years after civil authorities investigated - then dropped - the case.Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi issued the statement Wednesday in response to a New York Times story alleging that top Vatican officials, including the future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline or defrock the now-deceased Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy of Wisconsin, despite warnings from several American bishops.
"During the mid-1970s, some of Father Murphy's victims reported his abuse to civil authorities, who investigated him at that time," Lombardi said. "However, according to news reports, that investigation was dropped."
The allegations of abuse have deeply shaken Roman Catholic communities on nearly every continent.
On Monday March 29 at 2100 GMT we'll be bringing you a special one hour program dedicated to bringing you a 360 view on how the church scandal is affecting people around the world.
We want to know what you think - how is the abuse scandal affecting you as a Roman Catholic? Has this affected your view on religion? Are you less likely to attend church now?
Please leave your comments below and let us know where you're writing from.
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