KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
August 22, 2018
By Phyllis Zagano
Pennsylvania is bad enough. What if the other 49 shoes drop?
Will other U.S. attorneys general follow Pennsylvania’s lead? Will they launch investigations? Will they rid of us these troublesome priests … and bishops?
Probably not. Even as we reel in heartsick disbelief at staggering stories, the problem’s roots may be too deep.
We must assume decay began long before the Pennsylvania report’s 1947 start date. In the U.S., as elsewhere, a generational infestation now exhibits its epic proportions. Too many priest-abuser’s stories begin with their own abuse at the hands of a priest or priests.
Maybe we should have paid more attention to last century’s priestly exodus. Many priests left to marry. Many others simply left. Why? Not all who remained are dishonest, but what honest man could maintain sanity and remain silent if he knew bishops and others hid more than simple shenanigans? For years.
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