By stepping down, Pope Benedict has proven he’s capable of bold action. For the safety of children, in the weeks ahead, we hope he’ll show similar decisiveness and

Pope Benedict, who announced today he will resign on February 28, will leave his tenure as Pope without having made the one, simple moral and executive decision that would have, in a single stroke of his pen, protected potentially millions of children from harm, brought justice to hundreds of thousands of victims, and finally turned the church on a path towards true recovery and reform:  worldwide zero tolerance of child sex abuse by priests. 

It is difficult today, with the announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is retiring this month, not to think of the many victim/survivors of sexual abuse from St. John’s School for the Deaf. 

No matter how tired or weak Pope Benedict may be, he still has two weeks to use his vast power to protect youngsters. Before he steps down, we hope he will show true leadership and compassion and take tangible action to safeguard vulnerable children. 

The College of Cardinals will now look to its membership for a new leader, someone who can lead the Church into a new era. We hope that they look for a man among them who will protect the most vulnerable among the faithful: innocent children and reach out to the most hurt among the faithful: victims of clergy sexual abuse. 

We're worried that New York's Cardinal Tim Dolan is being discussed as a 'long shot' papal candidate.

Trying to help Joe Paterno’s reputation inevitably hurts children and victims. We hope Sue Paterno and her lawyers will stop this selfish, desperate effort.  We doubt that it will bring Sue Paterno peace or improve her husband’s legacy.  

A predatory Columbus Catholic priest, who once spent a year in prison, has passed away. Fr. Thomas L. McLaughlin died on Feb. 6th.

Imagine the outcry if a police chief disclosed that that she lets corrupt, trigger-happy cops stay on the job but allegedly keeps them away from cash and firearms? Or if a fire department head revealed that he let pyromaniac firefighters stay on the job but allegedly keeps them away from matches and gasoline?

We are grateful to Springfield police and prosecutors for pursuing the case against Scott Blair with such vigor. These are heinous crimes, and children in Springfield are much safer with Blair off the streets. 

Dear Mr. Birotte and Ms. Lacey;

We are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org). Our mission is to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded and expose the truth.

Some may question why we’re talking about a case publicly in which the victims don’t even remember the names of the abuser. But it’s important to remember two things.