WaPo: The Pope and the Catholic sex scandal
Source: Washington Post
Jason Berry weighed in on the Catholic Church sex scandal during the Papal visit:
Cardinal William Levada, the former archbishop of San Francisco, who now leads the Vatican office that reviews abuse cases worldwide, said last Friday that he didn't know of any bishops guilty of "aiding and abetting" pedophiles, and would respond if he did. Bishops who have made mistakes, largely took advice that was accepted at the time but proved wrong, he said.
Jason Berry, a New Orleans writer who first drew national attention to clergy sex abuse in the 1980s, said Levada is essentially absolving himself along with his fellow U.S. prelates.
Levada was archbishop in Portland from 1986 to 1995. In 2004, Portland became the first American diocese to seek bankruptcy protection, eventually paying $52 million to 175 victims.
When Levada was archbishop of San Francisco, the chairman of a panel formed to help the archdiocese review abuse claims resigned in protest, accusing church leaders of "deception" for blocking the panel's findings.
Levada told reporters in a meeting at Time magazine's offices on Friday that it is possible church law could be changed to help crack down on abuse, though Lombardi stressed later that no immediate revisions are planned.
"This is a crisis that has built up over generations," Berry said. "You cannot expect it to simply disappear in the space of five years."
How come you always get to say you were doing what you thought was right at the time? How is that a better response then "We were wrong and will eternally be sorry?"
