WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service (USCCB) via Catholic Philly
July 17, 2020
By Dennis Sadowski
Cleveland – Bishop Edward C. Malesic, the newly appointed bishop of Cleveland, said his main desire as he makes the transition from heading the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to shepherding his new diocese is to communicate the joy of the Gospel to people.
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In response to a question about falling church attendance, fed in part by the clergy sexual abuse scandal as well as misperceptions of church corruption and mean-spiritedness, Bishop Malesic called on the church to continue restoring its credibility.
When confronted by people who say they have left the church because they believe the church has left them, Bishop Malesic said he attempts to “communicate what the church is, what the Gospel is.”
“I think the church has become much more transparent today. The church doesn’t tolerate people who would abuse a child in any position within the church. Priests who do abuse children should be treated like everyone else, and maybe treated a little differently, a little more harshly because they’re leaders in the church,” he said.
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