The U.S. church still stands ready to help the victims of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy, according to Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau, Alaska, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Child and Youth Protection. “Victims of abuse have helped us see the errors of the past,” Bishop Burns said on Nov. 10. “It’s important that we assist them in the healing process.” He added: “We express our gratitude for the way they’ve called us to look at ourselves, and see that there is a need to change, to be contrite, and to assist in the healing process. It’s important that we continue to work together in order to be sure that there is a safe environment within the church, and that we never grow lax in assuring that all our children are safe.” The subject of sexual abuse by members of the clergy is being brought into the headlines again with the release of the new movie “Spotlight,” which deals with the Boston Globe’s investigation into abuse by Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Help for Abuse Victims
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l mulligan
8 years 5 months ago
If Bishop Burns and the USCCB were seriously interested in putting into action what they say they are interested in doing in words, they would, as their earthly boss has suggested, interact with their sheep, so they start smelling like them. How would they do that - one easy step would be to work with the lay organizations, such as Voice of the Faithful, who were formed as a result of the failed leadership of the hiearchy which resulted in the criminal sexual abuse of so many of our kids.
Concerned Catholic
8 years 5 months ago
It is tragic to have to say that the words of the bishops, religious superiors and clerics about child and youth protection are so often not being followed (when they are spoken at all). That has been an observable strategy from the outset and it has reaped the whirlwind. Countless thousands of victims and survivors, still new cases (and it usually takes years for them to come to light), a church increasingly in tatters, Catholics leaving, billions of dollars in abuse payments adding up still, and promised protection policies too often not being followed. The official response to the movie "Spotlight" has from too many dioceses or religious orders or parishes been statements (or lack of any statement or focus) to try to relegate the issue to the past. Boston 2002 was just the beginning of the widely publicly known scandal, as the endless names at the end of the movie of dioceses and provinces in the U.S. and around the world since shows. From the conservative Law in Boston to the liberal Hunthausen in Seattle to the northwest Jesuit province, and many others, with practices in lack of accountability, transparency and focus still endangering children today, the crises goes on. Will the promise of a tribunal from Pope Francis to hold the above accountable, past and present, be fulfilled? Remains to be seen. To read documentation about what has and is happening, start with this article at bishopaccounatbility.org http://www.bishop-accountability.org/On_Rights/2015_06_15_McKiernan_Hunthausen_and_the_Tribunal.htm, and then go through the rest of the documented history of horror on their site, widely referenced in the most credible media sources.
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