Both current Pope Francis and former Pope Benedict XVI have apologized for the abuses within the Catholic Church. In several countries, priests and even bishops have been convicted of crimes.
- The terrible thing is that the church has darkened all these years. Those who have come forward and reported the priests have not had their case tried legally, says the former nun Marie Siroky.
She says that she has been sexually abused by one of the two priests now revealed to have also been active in Sweden.
The bishops led their own investigations
Instead of letting the police investigate the cases where the priests were accused, the Catholic Church has made its own investigations. If the accused priest confessed and asked for forgiveness, or if there were witnesses, the accusation was deemed credible by the bishop. Then the priests could be sickened or relocated. The system was revealed by reporters at the Boston Globe magazine and was later portrayed in the award-winning Hollywood movie Spotlight.
"Systematic darkening"
Last year, a report from a so-called "grand jury" in Pennsylvania found that over 300 priests are suspected of assaulting over 1,000 minors over 70 years. The abuses have been systematically hidden by the Catholic Church's leadership in Pennsylvania and the Vatican, the report stated. The report led to several states extending the limitation period for these crimes.
The pedophile scandal has also created debate about the duty of secrecy that priests have when they receive confessions during confession. The question is whether the duty of confidentiality should really apply when it comes to other priests' abuse of children.
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