Sex Abuse Questions the Bishops Still Won’t Answer

As clergy sex abuse victims mark the sixth anniversary of when the abuses the bishops knew about for decades were exposed in the media, a number of unanswered questions continue to shake the Faithful’s trust in your claims that clergy sex abuse is a “problem of the past.” Your refusal to address the following questions has led victims’ advocates to be more concerned than ever about the safety of minors and seminarians.

If you truly have “zero tolerance” for clergy misconduct, why do new investigative reports like “Who Will Save Our Seminarians?” continue in 2024 to capture screenshots of the Grindr gay dating app page of a priest being sued for sexually abusing a seminarian, or pornographic text messages a pastor reportedly sent to a young man aspiring to become a priest?
If you truly meant your pledges of “never again,” why are you allowing priests accused of sexually exploiting seminarians to still oversee U.S. seminaries and parishes like those identified in recent reports such as “Who Will Save Our Seminarians?;” “From Predators to Pastors?;” and “Clerical Abuse and Misconduct: Diocese of Springfield in Illinois?”
If you are truly committed to “transparency,” why are priests and seminarians still beingpunished, dismissed, and even evicted from rectoriesbecause they reported sexual abuse?
If you truly wish for sex abuse victims to trust that complaints brought to the Church will be acted upon, why are agrowing number of U.S. dioceses today still headed by fellow bishops who themselves face credible graphic complaints of engaging in or covering up sexual misconduct?
If you truly believe that clergy who commit or cover up abuse should be sentenced to lead a life of “prayer and penance,” why is Cardinal Wilton Gregory paying his predecessor, Cardinal Donald Wuerl,more than $4 million from the wallets of Washington Catholics for so-called “ministry activities” after he resigned in disgrace?
If you truly wish to rid the clergy of sexual misconduct, why do studies continue to show that4 out of 5 clerics working in the Vatican and more than 3 out of 5 U.S. priests identify as homosexuals; or that “73 percent of homosexuals acknowledged having preyed on adolescents or younger boys;” or that the priesthood is increasingly dubbed a “gay profession” owing to the surging percentage of homosexual bishops and priests?
If you truly wish to stand up for seminarians and other vulnerable adults, why has not one bishop called upon Pope Francis to respond toallegations that he himself sexually abused seminarians?
If you were sincere when youclaimed that “every time one bishop fails to act, the entire episcopate is tainted,” why are more abused seminarians today than ever before forced to turn to the legal system for protection after Church leaders covered up their complaints or even dismissed them for reporting sexual predation?