Abominations

Catholics Punishes Priests but Protect Bishops' Sex Abuse Coverups

By Jacqueline L. Salmon / The Washington Post
It's getting a little uncomfortable for Catholic Bishop Carlos Sevilla these days. Several times in recent months, the Yakima, Wash., clergyman has had to defend himself against accusations that he concealed sexual misconduct by priests and employees. In one case, a priest who had worked in the diocese was convicted of felony abuse for fondling a 14-year-old girl. In another case, Sevilla hired a former seminarian after the man was charged with viewing child pornography. Sevilla is an example of the conundrum facing the U.S. Catholic Church as it struggles anew with the sex-abuse scandal, which Pope Benedict XVI brought up during his U.S. visit last month. Since then, activists have launched letter-writing campaigns and petition drives to try to push the pope into taking action against bishops who they believe have moved slowly to stop predator priests. "What is the pope going to do now? If it's nothing, then that is a terrible thing," said Terry McKiernan, president of BishopAccountablity.org, based in the Boston area. "There has been no public action by the Vatican since the pope's visit."
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Posted by Editor at May 10, 2008 02:55 PM