It is just amazing to me that bishops in the United States can still be choosing to protect priests with substantial allegations of sexual abuse against them. The Cardinal in Philadelphia, Justin Francis Rigali, suspended 21 priests earlier today that a grand jury investigation found have credible allegations of sexual abuse against them. Why were these priests not put on a leave of absence earlier? Why does the heavy hand of the law need to be brought in to strong arm certain bishops and Cardinals to protect children? Oddly enough, there was an article in the National Catholic Reporter last week indicating that there has been discussion about loosening the restrictions that the bishops put in place 10 years ago to protect children from sexual predators in the Church. This situation seems to indicate that the restrictions should be greater. The District Attorney praised Rigali for his response to the report. Why is he praising a bishop for doing something that he should have done years ago? This scandal adds insult to injury and makes the teaching authority of the bishops less credible and newsworthy than before.
A Faithful Catholic
