Media Statements

Dozens of times, Benedict has made the same unwise, unhealthy and hurtful decision to promote clerics who are guilty or accused of wrongdoing. With Mixa, he's doing it again. 

These recommendations, not surprisingly, are another tired, ineffective re-hash of the promises made by US bishops a decade ago, promises that have had little impact on this crisis. 

Whenever church officials are promoted, we always hope for the best. We hope that church officials will bring in an outsider who has not been involved in an institution that has been marred by cover-ups, or that a priest is promoted instead of a monsignor or fellow bishop. Today, when a Jesuit priest Fr. Thomas Smolich was tapped to head the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, church officials did exactly the opposite of what we hope for. They elevated a man with a horrific record on child sex abuse and who has been allegedly involved in many cover ups.

This is a callous choice and a terribly disappointing one for anyone who cares about kids.

New revelations are surfacing about Catholic employees castrating boys in the Netherlands and Catholic nuns essentially stealing babies in Spain. 

Today, the US Supreme Court announced that they will not review the case of John Doe AP versus Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis. This is a tragedy that will only make kids in Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin more vulnerable to child molesters and employers from those states more reckless about children’s safety.

Two groups concerned with the clergy sex abuse and cover up scandal are challenging a priest who was the alleged lover of a serial pedophile to “an open public discussion” at a Catholic church Monday night. They are writing two Washington bishops about the cleric.

A new civil lawsuit charges that a teacher and coach at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento sexually assaulted a female student in December 2009 and that Catholic church and school officials could and should have prevented the crimes.

We are very disappointed. Those who conceal suspected child crime from law enforcement should be severely punished.

We’re sad that another Catholic institution is harassing a brave advocate for victims. Jesuits should be ashamed of themselves for the entire Doug Perlitz scandal, which they are now making even worse by legally attacking a caring individual who has done much to expose Perlitz’ crimes and help Perlitz’ victims.