For decades, scores of victims brought forward complaints of clerical sexual abuse, only to find themselves revictimized by Church leaders. Victims, who had the courage to confront those who enabled their abuse as minors, found their voices hushed by threats of what might happen to them should they reveal their plights or even think of suing the Church. The Spotlight team of The Boston Globe took this challenge head-on in its 2002 exposé of the abuse crisis that has since proven to be of epic proportions. The Catholic Church in the United States alone has spent some $4 billion to date on abuse settlements and legal fees.
If 2002 marked a turning point regarding the clerical abuse of minors, 2021 is about to mark a new turning point, with more explosive revelations to come regarding abuse or reprisals against seminarians and the malfeasance of the clerics who allowed it to happen.
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