Too Little Too Late For Many Catholics

Pope Francis has stripped two Chilean bishops of their duties as priests amid claims that they are linked to the sexual abuse of minors.  All 34 of Chile's bishops had offered their resignations to the Pope over their role in covering up sexual abuse, but the pontiff has removed only five (three were removed in June).

More than 100 Catholic clergy are being investigated in Chile over alleged sex crimes and attempts to cover them up.  Police have raided offices and seized Church documents in the capital Santiago and the city of Rancagua as part of their criminal investigation.  Last month, Pope Francis defrocked former 88-year-old priest Fernando Karadima for having sexually abused minors.

The move to defrock the two Chilean archbishops came a day after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Washington DC archbishop Donald Wuerl, who has long been criticized for his handling of sexual abuse cases in the U.S.  A Pennsylvania grand jury report on sex abuse released this past summer said he had allowed accused priests to be reassigned or reinstated.  Unfortunately, the Pope has allowed Wuerl to retain his title of cardinal and continue in his role until a successor is named.

Allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy worldwide continue to affect the Church.  Last month, a leaked Church report revealed more than 3,600 children in Germany were assaulted by Catholic priests between 1946 and 2014.Most of the victims were boys, and more than half were aged 13 or younger.  In July, Australian Catholic archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to 12 months in detention for concealing historic child sexual abuse - the most senior Catholic globally to be convicted of the crime.

Sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the United States exploded in public awareness back in 2002 when an investigation by The Boston Globe generated widespread media coverage of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the Boston archdiocese. 

Since then, actions against the perpetrators and those who covered up their crimes have largely resulted from lawsuits and criminal claims led by sexual abuse victims, not by proactive moves by the upper levels of the Catholic church.  

The Catholic Church is fairly flat organizationally, which should have allowed the Vatican to respond quickly to allegations of sexual abuse--but it hasn't.    Critics of this slow response have accused the Vatican of favoring the rights of accused priests over those of its victims.  It also should be noted that it is a federal crime to be aware of a sexual abuse allegation and fail to report it to the police.

In 2005 Pope Benedict faced allegations that he was personally involved in covering up sexual abuse, but he was able to successfully avoid criminal prosecution by claiming diplomatic immunity.   For over a decade following the Boston Globe investigation, the Catholic church continued to avoid dealing with the sexual abuse issue at its highest level, insisting that all matters be dealt with at the Episcopal or Diocesan level.

IN 2011, when Pope Benedict's Vatican finally issued global guidelines on dealing with sexual abuse, the new guidelines still failed to make reporting of sexual abuse (to civil authorities) mandatory-- in clear violation of U.S. federal law.

It is believed that only one Catholic Church official has (to date) ever been convicted of covering up sexual abuse in the United States.   Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia was found guilty of child endangerment in 2012 and sentenced to 3 years in prison.