In 2002, the USCCB put Theodore McCarrick in-charge of drafting new sexual abuse policies.
A new report by the Associated Press (AP) is exposing how U.S. bishops have failed to police themselves regarding clerical sex abuse.
Published on Thursday, the AP is discussing how, in the nearly 20 years since the Boston Globe blew the lid off the clerical sex abuse scandal, the bishops have consistently failed to hold themselves to account and have continued to punish and ostracize victims for coming forward.
One of the reforms U.S. bishops promised to make is the establishment of boards to investigate sex abuse.
The AP reports:
But almost two decades later, an Associated Press investigation of review boards across the country shows they have broadly failed to uphold these commitments. Instead, review boards appointed by bishops and operating in secrecy have routinely undermined sex abuse claims from victims, shielded accused priests and helped the church avoid payouts.
It goes on to add, “The AP also found dozens of cases in which review boards rejected complaints from survivors, only to have them later validated by secular authorities,” noting, “In a few instances, board members were themselves clergy accused of sexual misconduct.”
On Nov. 14 it was revealed that a New York bishop assigned by Pope Francis to investigate sex abuse cover-up in Buffalo is himself being accused of sex abuse. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is being accused of sexually abusing an altar boy in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the 1970s.
Church Militant contacted DiMarzio to ask if he is now disqualified from the Buffalo investigation and whether another bishop will be tasked with investigating him, but received no answer.
Read more at Church Militant