Horrifying.
The grand jury also noted how the Church managed to cover all these crimes up as long as they did. Leaders, they said, followed a “playbook for concealing the truth” that consisted of seven steps:
Use euphemisms. (“Never say “rape”; say “inappropriate contact” or “boundary issues.”)
Don’t investigate with trained personnel. (Instead, let clergy members ask the victims “inadequate” questions before judging their own colleagues.)
Evaluate priests at church-run “treatment centers.”
Never say why a priest was removed. (Just say he’s on “sick leave” or something.)
Keep providing priests with living expenses regardless of the allegations.
Transfer the priests if his crime becomes public knowledge. (Send him to a place where “no one will know he is a child abuser.”)
Don’t tell the police. (Keep it “in house.”)
Finally, is there any way to fix this?
Yes, said the grand jury, and they offered a few recommendations:
Eliminate the criminal statute of limitations. Pennsylvania law now permits victims to come forward until age 50, but the grand jury said they heard from victims who were, in some cases, in their 70s, but had no legal recourse anymore. They’ve spent their entire lives traumatized by what they went through and an arbitrary cutoff to seek justice is cruel.
Let victims sue the diocese in a timely manner. In many cases, victims “ran out of time to sue before they even knew they had a case.” They need a “window” of time in which to sue once they’re aware of the situation. It shouldn’t be closed off before they even know their options.
Laws must mandate the reporting of abuse, even in Church. There are too many loopholes in the state law that allowed churches to get away with not letting law enforcement know about what predatory priests were doing.
Confidentiality arguments must be tossed aside in criminal cases. The Church had them for decades. In some cases, they gave victims some money to silence them for life.
How about quitting the Catholic Church?