Adults have a duty to love and protect children. Yet not a day goes
by when we don’t hear a story about children abused by someone they know
and trust. Perpetrators cover a very wide spectrum, from parents to
coaches to teachers to clergy. But especially bitter for the statewide
Catholic community is a March 1 grand jury report detailing abuses that
took place in western Pennsylvania’s Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
This news brings back ugly feelings for so many within our own Archdiocese, which learned its own lessons about child sexual abuse the hard way. The most important lesson is that the persons who suffer most in these tragedies are the survivors and their families. I’ve met personally with many survivors over the years. Their stories and experiences are intensely painful. I am deeply sorry for all they’ve endured, for the past failures of the Church, and for the role she has played in their suffering.
http://catholicphilly.com/2016/03/think-tank/archbishop-chaput-column/a-bitter-time-and-its-lessons/
This news brings back ugly feelings for so many within our own Archdiocese, which learned its own lessons about child sexual abuse the hard way. The most important lesson is that the persons who suffer most in these tragedies are the survivors and their families. I’ve met personally with many survivors over the years. Their stories and experiences are intensely painful. I am deeply sorry for all they’ve endured, for the past failures of the Church, and for the role she has played in their suffering.
http://catholicphilly.com/2016/03/think-tank/archbishop-chaput-column/a-bitter-time-and-its-lessons/