ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
Oct. 3, 2019
A report into abuse and cover-up within the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City was just released today, and it is a scathing indictment of the church officials’ handling of cases of abuse and cover-up.
The report released by McAfee and Taft in Oklahoma City goes into much greater detail than most other reports commissioned by church officials. Notably, it is one of few that goes into detail about crucial information which church officials often leave off their own reports: when were allegations received, and what actions church officials took in response.
Thanks to this report, we know that those actions usually involved quiet, internal conversations, instructions to destroy records relating to those conversations, and little if any effort made to report the allegations to law enforcement. These are obvious cases of cover-up that were designed to protect abusive priests instead of children. We can only wonder how many survivors were ignored by the church and suffered in shame and self-blame as a result, or how many children were victimized by priests that church officials had already been warned about.
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