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Posted by David Clohessy on March 06, 2013
First, we want to urge Catholic prelates to stop pretending that the worst is over regarding the clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis. Tragically, the worst is almost certainly ahead. This scandal, we believe, has yet to surface in most nations. It’s shameless spin and deliberate deception to claim otherwise. It’s tempting to reassure the public and the parishioners by making this claim. But it’s also irresponsible. (It leads to complacency, and complacency protects no one. Only vigilance protects the vulnerable.)
Clergy sex crimes and cover-ups remain deeply hidden in the vast majority of nations (where most Catholics live), and has really only become widely known – and barely addressed – in the US about a decade ago and in a few European countries even more recently.
History, psychology and common sense all suggest that since the vast majority of clergy sex crimes and cover ups in the developing world are yet to be exposed, the bulk of the scandal is yet to come. Further, we believe the worst is yet to come because it’s likely that thousands of predatory priests across the world are still molesting and still live and work among unsuspecting families and flocks. (Church officials admit that there are 6,100 accused predator priests in the US alone. And the US represents only about 6% percent of the planet’s population.)
We hear less about clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Africa, Asia, and South America because there tends to be less funding for law enforcement, less vigorous civil justice systems, less independent journalism, and an even greater power and wealth difference between church officials and their congregants (which makes abuse and cover ups harder to prevent and expose).
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