Survivors of abuse and their advocacy organizations had expressed frustration with the lack of specific recommendations at the conclusion of the Vatican summit.

An interview with Duncan G. Stroik, architect, author and professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame.

“We respect him and his office,” she told America. “But right now the issue of clergy sexual abuse is so much in the news, and the issue of covering up.” Cardinal Mahony, she said, is a “symbol of this.”

The case gives the court an opportunity to clarify the test used to determine when government-sponsored religious displays violate the First Amendment.

Lay oversight of Catholic bishops is needed—but it should be a process that respects the principle of apostolic succession while providing a check on the successors of the apostles.