Why trust a Church with so many scandals?

The answer, in writing

Church teaching

The Church calls herself “at once holy and always in need of purification.” CCC 827

All her members, including her ministers, must admit that they are sinners. CCC 827

The Catechism also says plainly that ordination doesn’t protect a priest from sin. CCC 1550

What actually happened, in the U.S.

A study the bishops themselves commissioned, from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2004), found credible allegations against 4,392 priests from 1950 to 2002, made by 10,667 people. John Jay report

In 2018 a Pennsylvania grand jury reviewed half a million pages of diocesan files from six dioceses and found credible allegations against over three hundred priests, with over a thousand child victims identifiable from the Church’s own records. Pennsylvania grand jury report

In 2002 the U.S. bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People: safe-environment training, prompt response to allegations, cooperation with civil authorities, removal of offenders, and an independent National Review Board with yearly audits. USCCB Charter

In 2019 (updated 2023) Pope Francis issued Vos estis lux mundi, which obliges clergy and religious to report abuse, and any cover-up by bishops, and says these rules never override civil reporting laws. Vos estis lux mundi

How to report

• A child in danger right now: call 911. Abuse of a minor should always go to the police or your state’s child-abuse hotline first.
• Abuse by a priest, deacon or Church worker: also call your diocese’s victim assistance coordinator (every U.S. diocese lists one on its website).
• Abuse or cover-up by a bishop: Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service, (800) 276-1562.

Our words

Trust Jesus first. The Church’s sins are real, and some were monstrous. People stay not because the Church is clean, but because Christ is still there, in the sacraments, in spite of us.