A new grand jury report was released on August 14th documenting more than 300 predator priests in Pennsylvania that have been CREDIBLY accused of sexually abusing OVER 1,000 CHILD victims. The report says that the lost cases and those who were afraid to come forward could total in the thousands. And remember, that is just in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.
If those numbers don't make you want to vomit or cry or lose all faith in the Catholic Church, then let me continue. Actually, please take a moment to read for yourself a few of these disgusting and horrific cases before I continue.
In the state of Pennsylvania, you cannot file a civil case over the age of 30. These reports date back to 1947 and that means all of those survivors are well over the age of 30. Where is the closure for them? They can't file suit and, clearly, the Church has been brushing them under the rug. In fact, they've been brushing the cases under the rug for so long that a good portion of the accused priests are dead, so where is the justice?
God, what the hell is going on? These supposed men of Your word are taking full advantage and ruining THOUSANDS of people's lives. Good people. Innocent people. People who want nothing more than to live in Your eternal glory and You are abandoning them. You are forsaking them and I think it's about time we get some damn answers.
I was baptized Lutheran and confirmed in the ELCA so it's not like these are even my priests. But You are the same God to all of us. I have been struggling with my religion for quite some time now. I previously published an article describing my loss of religion while attending a Catholic university and this report only makes me feel 100x more cynical.
I understand that God supposedly has a plan for everyone and we don't deserve to have any answers but how am I supposed to trust in Him when apparently His plan includes a 7-year-old getting sexually abused in their hospital room?
Someone, please give us all some answers or an explanation or some way we're supposed to wrap our heads around this horrendous abuse. Honestly, there are no words though. There are no explanations or excuses. The grand jury report states that they are hoping this is a sign that the church is finally changing its ways- but for many, it is way too late.
