The present era of awareness of sexual violation by Catholic clerics
began in 1983 in two Catholic dioceses: the Archdiocese of St. Paul
and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. This was not
the start date of the problem of sexual violation but the beginning of
widespread public awareness.
The reality of sexually dysfunctional clerics preying on minors and adults goes back through the centuries. In our lifetime it had been covered with a thick blanket of secrecy. It was unknown to the vast majority of lay persons and clerics as well. Many bishops knew about it but when they had to confront real cases they did so in secret with only a very small number of their closest advisors, all clerics, involved. Although they knew about sexual violation of minors in general, they were incapable of comprehending both its deeply pathological nature and its disastrous effects on victims.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2016_06_24_to_26_Doyle_Light_Years.htm
The reality of sexually dysfunctional clerics preying on minors and adults goes back through the centuries. In our lifetime it had been covered with a thick blanket of secrecy. It was unknown to the vast majority of lay persons and clerics as well. Many bishops knew about it but when they had to confront real cases they did so in secret with only a very small number of their closest advisors, all clerics, involved. Although they knew about sexual violation of minors in general, they were incapable of comprehending both its deeply pathological nature and its disastrous effects on victims.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2016_06_24_to_26_Doyle_Light_Years.htm