On the day of the Assumption of Mary, a grand jury report announced that internal documents from six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania showed that more than 300 "predator priests" have been accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims since 1947.
This one was just outrageous, capping an incessant series of scandals and cover-ups. Public awareness of sexual abuse of children by the Catholic clergy in North America began in the late 1970s and the 1980s, as the result of a growing awareness of physical abuse of children in society.
What's amazing is that if Catholic institutions in North America, Australia, Ireland and South America seem to have been notorious for their abuse of kids, non Anglo-Saxon communities of Europe, like France, Italy, Portugal or Spain seem to have remained sheltered from the high rate of cases observed elsewhere.
Is it because priests in the countries are much better behaved or educated than in America? I seriously doubt it. On the contrary, I believe that the mechanisms of suppression in these mostly Catholic countries are much more forceful, the respective governments are enablers, and all are keeping a very tight lid on these kinds of scandals.
It's true that while I was an altar boy in France for about 6 years, I worked under two priests that were beyond reproach, but my case might have be an exception rather than a rule, and I know people that, under different circumstances, didn't have my chance.
What do you think?
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