NIAGRA (NY)
Niagra Gazette
January 23, 2019
By Ed Adamczyk
Local agencies of the Catholic Church regularly reveal lists of priests, many long dead, accused of sexual abuse against the young. While I never hung around with many Catholic priests, one I once knew recently appeared on such a list. No, he never got me; I have no claim against him, any more than anyone I have ever met who pitched his or her own brand of salvation.
The release of lists of suspected abusers using the church to cover their sins is not new, nor is it confined to Western New York. Australia, for example, is currently reeling from revelations about several high-ranking men within the Catholic hierarchy there, and the resulting civil trials. Yes, out there, courts are actively going after suspected sex abusers in the church.
Any large and entrenched organization can, upon investigation, expose irregularities conflicting with its reason for being. Someone once said that employment anywhere for a period of one year qualifies a person to say “You won’t believe what goes on in there.” It goes for General Motors, the U.S. government, any church or school, and notably for families. It goes for any outfit hiding incidents contrary to law or to its mission.
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