MISSOURI
News-Press Now
Editorial
Victims of child sexual abuse are due every reasonable form of redress and compensation. An apology might seem the least of these things, but a sincere apology still has value.
Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. was installed last fall to lead the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He was not the bishop when the diocese, like too many others, became embroiled in a series of claims about sexual abuse, paid financial settlements and saw his predecessor charged with a crime for failing to report suspected child sexual abuse.
Nevertheless, Johnston has offered the most compelling statement of official diocese sentiment since the scandal first unfolded. The words are welcomed even in the context of the harm that was caused:
“I am here to confess, apologize and repent for the sins of those who held a sacred trust in the church and who betrayed that trust,” Johnston told those gathered June 26 in Kansas City for a Service of Lament. Church members, victims and survivors of sexual abuse attended, as well as nearly all priests in the diocese.
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