Victims of sexual abuse by priests calling for justice
The cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have done collateral damage to the church and exposed the clergy to public condemnation and mockery making millions of people to lose their faith in the Catholic Church and the rest of Christendom.
Cases of have been confirmed in Canada, Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Belgium, France, and Germany, while cases have been reported throughout the world.
Pope John Paul II declared in 2001 that "a sin against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue by a cleric with a minor under 18 years of age is to be considered a grave sin, or delictum gravius."
With the approval of the Vatican, the hierarchy of the church in the United States claimed to institute reforms to prevent future abuse including requiring background checks for Church employees and volunteers, while opposing extensions of the statutes of limitations in sex abuse cases.
Additional information from the Wikipedia
The following is the news release on the John Jay's report on the various investigated cases of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests in the U.S.
13 May 2011 20:12 Africa/Lagos
Release of John Jay's report on The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010
PR Newswire
May 13
What: Release of John Jay's report on The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010
When: May 18, 2 p.m. ET (Media should be in place by 1:45 p.m.)
Where: USCCB, 3211 4th St. NE , Washington, DC 20017-1194 (USCCB is located on 4th Street, between Michigan Ave., NE and Lincoln Rd. NE, and a short walk from the Brookland Metro stop.)
Who:
Karen Terry , Ph.D., John Jay College and principal investigator for report
Diane Knight, ACSW, Chair, National Review Board, USCCB Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection
Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, Chair, U.S. Bishops' Committee on Protection of Children and Young People
Media who wish to attend must pre-register by calling USCCB Office of Media Relations, 202-541-3200 or e-mailing media-relations@usccb.org by Tuesday, May 17, 3 p.m.
Registrants should indicate beforehand if they wish to do a brief individual TV, radio or print interview with Ms. Terry, Ms. Knight or Bishop Cupich following the media conference.
Media who cannot attend in person can participate in the conference through Adobe Connect and/or listen via telephone. To register for this and to receive a password, please e-mail media-relations@usccb.org . After the presentations, media can submit questions via e-mail as time allows.
The report and related information will be available at www.usccb.org after the media conference.
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- May 13, 2011/
SOURCE U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Web Site: http://www.usccb.org
