UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
How did reportedly 90 out of 115 Cardinals find a Cardinal like Pope Francis to clean up the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church? Is he a mountain mover? After all, many, if not most, of these Cardinals actively condoned or passively acquiesced for decades in the Vatican’s worldwide cover-up of predatory priests.
It does not appear, however, that Pope Francis had earlier distinguised himself either as a senior Latin American bishop by condemning Fr. Maciel’s blatant abuses over many years, nor as a Jesuit has he seemingly to date clearly spoken out on the well reported extensive abuse of Native American children by some Jesuits.
The Washington Post has now reported that Pope Francis’ record in Buenos Aires on dealing with priests who abused children disappointlingly does not appear much different than many of his episcopal brethren who have been widely criticized. Please see, “Pope Francis Was Often Quiet On Argentine Sex Abuse Cases as Archbishop”, accessible at:
Pope Francis now has a unique, perhaps last, chance to try to redeem his record, and that of so many other Cardinals and Bishops worldwide. Catholics hope and pray he will, but Catholics need to be realistic and not assume Pope Francis will act, unless the Catholic hierarchy continues to be pressed hard by political leaders and government prosecutors to do so.
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