Talk Is Cheap, Pope Francis
Pope Francis today announced the formation of a high-level commission to advise him on how to handle instances of clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. It is a cautious and underwhelming response. From the NYT report:
At the same time, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, the leading United States-based support group for clergy abuse victims known by its acronym, SNAP, called the news a disappointment that reflected badly on the new pope. David Clohessy, executive director of the group, said the announcement suggested that the Vatican remained strongly resistant to making sexually abusive members of the clergy and their church protectors accountable to external criminal prosecution.
“A new church panel is the last thing that kids need,” Mr. Clohessy said in a telephone interview from St. Louis. “Church officials have mountains of information about those who have committed and those who are concealing horrible child sex crimes and cover-ups. They just have to give that information to the police.”