Sins of the Father

By Editorial Board
Indiana Daily Student
November 12, 2014

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2014/11/sins-of-the-father


The first step to recovery is admitting the problem, and the Roman Catholic Church is confessing all of its ?transgressions to its followers.

Cardinal Francis E. George released roughly 15,000 pages describing acts of sexual abuse committed by priests in the Chicago area, according to the New York Times.

The documents include graphic descriptions of the priests’ conduct and church officials’ slow response in addressing several of the cases. All of the priests mentioned in the documents are no longer serving in the church.

Though the release of these documents is a step in the right direction, i n releasing these documents just days before his retirement, George should have made a greater effort to express his motive behind his decision to release the information.

Church leaders should also reform their institution to ensure that child sexual abuse never goes unpunished again.

Additionally, while the archbishop said the church had formally identified the priests with complaints of sexual misconduct prior to the release of the documents, all of the men are no longer serving the church and 92 percent of the cases discussed happened before 1988.

His decision to wait until now to release the information has deprived some of the child victims from seeking justice because of Illinois’ statute of limitations.

Unfortunately, even if the victims pressed charges against the abuser within the allotted time, the separation of church and state could have prevented the priest from being convicted.

Intended to protect both religion and government from encroaching upon each other’s functions in society, the continual revelations of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church demonstrate the negative consequences of the division between two important facets of society.

There have been reports of sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s, according to BBC News. However, the New York Times reported the United States did not formally try a priest in court until 1985.

Conducting criminal proceedings in the Vatican is a strong step toward ending sexual abuse within the ranks of the Roman ?Catholic Church.

However, both secular law enforcement and the church must do more to swiftly address allegations of sexual abuse.

Although investigations involve the risk of divulging information that the church may wish to keep secret, both parties must place their differences aside and realize that no amount of mystery or autonomy is worth the life of a child.

The Roman Catholic Church has taken the first step toward addressing acts of sexual abuse among its ?leadership.

Only time will tell if the entity will repent and realize the good of holding perpetrators accountable for their sins.