WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR All Things Considered
September 4, 2018
By Tom Gjelten
The failure of church authorities to police their own clergy has led lay Catholics and civil authorities to move on their own. After Pennsylvania, other state attorneys general have launched investigations.
Audie Cornish, Host:
The Pennsylvania grand jury that investigated widespread clergy sex abuse may have set a new precedent. Until now, most abuse cases have been handled by Catholic authorities themselves. The church has its own legal system, complete with prosecutors, judges and trials. But many abuse victims say they’ve lost confidence in the church system. Here’s NPR’s Tom Gjelten.
Tom Gjelten: Under Catholic Church law, it is a crime for a priest to molest a child. You can’t be sent to prison – only civil law can do that – but canon number 1395 in the code of canon law says a priest who has sexual contact with a minor should be penalized up to and including being removed from the priesthood. And Catholic authorities claim they are now finding those abusive priests.
Lisa Madigan: Well, the problem is I’m not sure that that’s accurate.
Gjelten: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced her own clergy abuse investigation last month.
Madigan: So there has to actually be an independent investigation that will allow for a full and complete accounting. And until that’s done, because of the history, there really is a concern that there are still crimes that may be hidden and people who may be hiding them.
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