US Bishops Fail at Investigating Themselves, by Rodney Pelletier

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Bishops listen to a speaker Nov. 14, 2018, at the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. The bishops will gather for their annual meeting in Baltimore Nov. 11-13, 2019. (CNS photo/Bob Roller) See BISHOPS-MEETING-PREVIEW Oct. 23, 2019.

By Rodney Pelletier, Church Militant, November 22, 2019

Secular media exposing how bishops investigative boards fail victims

DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) – A new report by the Associated Press (AP) is exposing how U.S. bishops have failed to police themselves regarding clerical sex abuse.

Published on Thursday, the AP is discussing how, in the nearly 20 years since the Boston Globe blew the lid off the clerical sex abuse scandal, the bishops have consistently failed to hold themselves to account and have continued to punish and ostracize victims for coming forward.

One of the reforms U.S. bishops promised to make is the establishment of boards to investigate sex abuse.

The AP reports:

But almost two decades later, an Associated Press investigation of review boards across the country shows they have broadly failed to uphold these commitments. Instead, review boards appointed by bishops and operating in secrecy have routinely undermined sex abuse claims from victims, shielded accused priests and helped the church avoid payouts.

It goes on to add, “The AP also found dozens of cases in which review boards rejected complaints from survivors, only to have them later validated by secular authorities,” noting, “In a few instances, board members were themselves clergy accused of sexual misconduct.” ….

 

Read more here  churchmilitant.com/news/article/u.s-bishops-fail-at-investigating-themselves