What the McElroy Appointment Says About the Church’s Commitment to Sex Abuse Victims, by Janet E. Smith

By Janet E. Smith, Crisis Magazine, June 13, 2022

Janet E. Smith, Ph.D., is a retired professor of moral theology.

It wasn’t long into my study of the sex abuse crisis in the Church that I realized that many or even most bishops customarily respond to a report about abuse 1) by feeling sorry for themselves that they have another mess on their hands; 2) by feeling sorry for the priest whose priesthood may be ruined; and 3) by trying to figure out how to get the victim to remain silent and go away. There is rarely, if ever, any true concern shown for the victim; sometimes counseling is offered but more often as a way to appease than to help the victim. …

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