The Catholic Church Ignores This Child Sexual Abuse Law

[Major Nikon]

The church has a history of handling child abuse allegations internally ― which protects priests and endangers children.

One of the most damning findings from the recent grand jury investigation into widespread child sex abuse in Pennsylvania Catholic Church dioceses is how leaders covered up the misconduct. “It’s like a playbook for concealing the truth,” wrote the grand jury in its report, outlining seven tactics that church officials followed, such as using euphemisms for rape, shuffling predatory priests among dioceses and conducting bogus internal investigations.

Experts told HuffPost that sexual abuse continues in large part because the church ignores laws enacted to protect kids from harm. In particular, they said clergy regularly violate mandatory reporting laws, which require certain groups to inform child protective services or the police about suspected child abuse. But changing the church’s deeply rooted culture of silence and trust into one that holds itself accountable to law enforcement is a big task.

Sherryll Kraizer, the founder and director of the Coalition for Children, said the Catholic Church protects “pedophile priests” instead of children. “It’s a culture that they are struggling with giving up,” she said. “The law is clear, and the criminality is clear, and the sin is clear.”

She said the Catholic Church is so good at fostering trust among its followers that members have not questioned whether priests should have the authority to handle child abuse claims. “The church did what it wanted because it could get away with it,” she said. “We have been socialized to look at people in the clergy almost as if they are gods ... That’s how these children were groomed.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/catholic-church-mandatory-reporting-sex-abuse_us_5b74c725e4b02b415d752ed8

Sometimes it’s good to hear what others are trying to say rather than the RCC itself, which has a long history and a vested interest in child rape apologia.