Church response to Maryland abuse report, victims’ bill follows lawyers’ advice, not Jesus’

The Maryland Attorney General investigation into the Archdiocese of Baltimore resulted in a 456-page report that has yet to be publicly released but, we’ve been told, implicates 158 Catholic priests and lay people in the direct abuse and sexual torture of at least 600 victims. It’s also said to chronicle how Church leaders knew about, and in many cases enabled or transferred the sexual predators, allowing them to continue the abuse. These horrid acts are difficult for Catholics like myself to come to grips with because they cut so deep into our faith and trust in the sanctity of the Church.