Remembering the Real Victims . . .

. . . in the Roman Catholic clergy abuse crisis.

The Catholic hierarchy has engaged in and still engages in widely-documented, self-serving and on-going cover ups of devastating clergy sex crimes. That's why church records are being disclosed, predator priests are being exposed, and Catholic officials feel besieged.

- Excerpt from a SNAP Media Release
April 2, 2010

Good Friday reminds us that Jesus went to his crucifixion freely and surrendered his life for something greater, which came on Easter Sunday. This profound image may help the Catholic Church meditate on what it is invited to do. But that means that something has to die.

What needs to die is a clerical culture that fostered power, privilege and secrecy. An attitude that placed a priest's reputation above a child's welfare. A mindset in which investigations of dissident theologians and American Catholic sisters were more swiftly prosecuted than investigations of abusive priests. What needs to die is a certain pride. All this needs to be surrendered freely.

- James Martin, S.J.
A Priest Prays For The Church's Rebirth
National Public Radio
April 2, 2010

Recommended Online Articles and Commentaries:
Sacrilege? - Lisa Fullam (dotCommonweal, April 1, 2010).
Priest's Remarks Compare Abuse Uproar to Persecution of Jews - Daniel J. Wakin and Rachel Donadio (New York Times, April 2, 2010).
Child-Raping Priests and Their Protectors = The New Jews - Evan Hurst (TruthWinsOut.org, April 2, 2010).
Victims, Jewish Groups Slam 'Shameful' Remarks at Vatican - AFP (April 2, 2010).
John Jay Study: No Correlation Between Sexual Orientation and Catholic Clerical Abuse - William D. Lindsey (Bilgrimage, April 3, 2010).
This 'Blame the Gays' Defense of the Vatican Basically Makes No Sense at All - Jason Linkins (The Huffington Post, April 3, 2010).
It's Not About the Media: Blaming the Messenger in the Sex Abuse Crisis - James Martin, S.J. (The Huffington Post, April 1, 2010).
An Unholy Holy Week - Anne Eggebroten (Religion Dispatches, March 30, 2010).
What Did the Pope Know? - ABC News (April 1, 2010).
The Inquisitor Pope As the Agent of Apostasy - Frank Cocozzelli (The Open Tabernacle, April 3, 2010).
Prosecute the Pope - Geoffrey Robertson (The Daily Beast, April 1, 2010).
The Year of the Abusive Priest - Anthea Butler (Religious Dispatches, March 30, 2010).
The Absolute Wrong Response to Sex Abuse - Bryan Cones (U.S. Catholic, March 29, 2010).
New Criticism of Pope Further Clouds Easter Week - Francoise Kadri (AFP, April 3, 2010).
Vatican Waited Years to Defrock Arizona Priest - Matt Sedensky (Associated Press, April 3, 2010).
Loyal Roman Soldiers Upholding the Power of the Empire - Colleen Kochivar-Baker (Enlightened Catholicism, April 2, 2010).
Pray For Us - James Martin, S.J. (America, March 31, 2010).
Threatened with Resurrection: The Testimony of Survivors, Reformation, and the Future of Catholicism - William D. Lindsey (The Open Tabernacle, April 4, 2010).

Recommended Website:
SNAP - The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests