More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused over 600 children and often escaped accountability, according to a long-awaited state report released Wednesday that revealed the scope of abuse spanning 80 years and accused church leaders of decades of coverups.
The report paints a damning picture of the archdiocese, which is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the country and spans much of Maryland. Some parishes, schools and congregations had more than one abuser at the same time — including St. Mark Parish in Catonsville, which had 11 abusers living and working there between 1964 and 2004. One deacon admitted to molesting over 100 children. Another priest was allowed to feign hepatitis treatment and make other excuses to avoid facing abuse allegations.
How many times do stories like this need to be repeated, in different dioceses, in different states, in different countries, before we wise up and realize that the Roman Catholic Church is an age-old criminal institution?
Back around 1988 when such news broke here in the MA/RI land there was a gentleman I knew (about 81 yrs old). He had been a student at the local Catholic run school. His comment was: Everyone knew what was going on under the desk/podium.
ReplyDeleteThe "Church" has obviously been a problem for ages. One of the best series I watched was the History Channels History of Sex. I learned how influential the Church was. Came down to one man who obviously had his own issues. I highly recommend the series.
When I was in 8th grade, a kid appeared in my class half-way through the year. He was a neighborhood kid, most of us knew him, and he had attended the local Catholic school.
ReplyDeleteThe rumor was that he had punched out a priest. The "why" can be inferred from the fact that nobody talked about what led up to the punching.
Also, the Magdalene Laundry scandal in Ireland resulted in the RCC losing its iron grip on Irish politics. Deservedly so. And those fuckers in the RCC have, to my knowledge, refused to acknowledge their crimes against humanity.
ReplyDeleteThe RCC has zero standing to stand in moral judgment of anyone.