One of the worst accusations against the integrity of the Catholic Church arise from the continuous sexual abuse scandals that have emerged in recent decades.
In particular the “Spotlight scandals” of clerical abuse in Boston found their way into the news in 2002. The Church authorities responded by saying they were shocked and appalled, offered heartfelt apologies, held meetings, and promised to make changes, insisting abuse would not happen again.
When Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s long history of abuse finally made its way on to the public stage in 2018, Church authorities responded again by saying they were shocked and appalled, offered heartfelt apologies, held meetings, and pledged to make changes, so that abuse would not happen again.
