UNITED STATES
The Legal Examiner
Mike Bryant
There is an easy answer and that is “yes”. Jeff Anderson took a look at this topic over at his must read blog based on a CNN Interview:
There are seven concrete measures the future pope can and must implement to bring about change within the clerical culture on child sexual abuse. First, disclose the names of all the clerics credibly accused and known to the Vatican worldwide along with the country, state, and parish or school where the offenses were allegedly committed. More than a dozen bishops have already created such lists and made them public.
Second, publicly disclose all of the documents within the Vatican’s archives that pertain to reports of child sex abuse, the Vatican’s response to it, and the hierarchy’s role in the abuse. The church must begin to make amends to survivors, and exposing the secrets and concealment contained in such documents is a critical step.
Third, revise church canon law and Vatican protocols so that no secrecy surrounds child sex abuse. Secrecy is toxic, and in it, child abuse flourishes. Fourth, require each bishop and church official to report clergy accused of sexual abuse of minors to law enforcement.
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