Catholic Church: Push for greater transparency in reporting clerical sex abuse

Victims of clergy sex abuse asked Vatican leaders “to launch a new era of transparency” as a necessary step in respecting victims and establishing zero tolerance. Clergy in many parts of the world are denying the existence of abuse or downplaying its seriousness. (NBC News, February 20, 2019, by The Associated Press)

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said there should be no secrecy surrounding prosecutions of clergy involving sexual abuse of minors. “It is not transparency which damages the church, but rather the acts of abuse committed, the lack of transparency or the ensuing cover-up,” he said. Strict rules and consequences are needed to counteract the sins of humanity, he said. Catholic News Service, February 23, 2019, by Carol Glatz)