UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Posted by Barbara Blaine on February 20, 2013
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child is chiding the U.S. for “failing to fully pursue cases of child sex abuse in religious groups,” according to news accounts.
The committee is right. In a number of western democracies (such as Ireland and Australia), courageous political leaders have launched governmental investigation into heinous clergy sex crimes and cover-ups on a regional or national scale. But little if anything of comparable significance has happened in the US.
There hasn’t been a single legislative hearing – at the state or national level – into this horrific and on-going scandal, much less any real meaningful legislative reform. (The exceptions are California, Delaware and Hawaii where civil “windows” have been adopted, giving more victims a chance to expose more child molesting clerics and complicit church officials in court).
Simply put, there has been – and still is – a far too cozy relationship in the U.S. between some governmental and law enforcement officials and some church figures.
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