Seriously - is there any other Church that claims to be Christian, that has such deep evil rooted in it? The massive scandals and cover ups we have seen again and again.
They used to say all churches were the same, and they just pick on the Catholic church because it's the biggest and most visible, but I'm not sold on that anymore. It's just looks like the one most overflowing with evil.
The Episcopalians have a much bigger problem per capita, but since they are so small it appears invisible. Protestants in general have large problem with sexual abuse by their various clergies. The data is nicely hidden but shows itself in aggregate insurance settlement costs. We Catholics do have a problem, but we are not unique in it. We are unique in being a big fat target for lawyers, in keeping good records of our clergy, in knowing we can no longer hide such things, in being a favorite media target, and having an established and thriving Lavender Mafia. The last thing is reprehensible. Satan has infiltrated the Catholic Church, and is using sexual deviancy as one of his dark lord's better tools.
There is no evidence in this particular case of any cover-up. The bishop has responded with openness and speed. We should askfor details on how this guy got ordained, who his buddies are, what his networks are, and how he got to this point. Then a bulldozer needs to clean all of his associates in corruption out. We need a priesthood small enough not to contain this sort of character.
Let me remind you that none of this should be a surprise. Malachi Martin has been blowing the whistle for years. And he's not the only one. We just didn't want to see it. So we didn't see it. We forgot that we all have hearts of darkness. We pretended that everything was just peachy, that everyone is saved, that we're all just good people, and nice, and that we just need to be nice. That's what C.S. Lewis called 'Christianity and water'. There is evil, quite expectedly, in the Catholic Church. Go down to the corner religious group and pay attention and you will find it there. Go down to the corner non-religious institution and pay attention and you will fid it there. Go visit your neighbor and pay attention and you will find it there. Soend some time with your own extended family and pay attention and you will find it there. Spend some time with your own soul and pay attention and you will find it there. The last thing you can confess, and maybe you have not yet caused an irreparable scandal to others. Just know that none of this is rare, nowhere is it rare.