When the Bishops Surrendered Their Religious Liberty

The second John Jay report & the Vatican's letter to bishops

The abuse crisis resurfaces in Philadelphia

Ratzinger, church law & the sexual-abuse crisis

In 1922, the Vatican issued norms for handling the canonical crime of the sexual abuse of minors by priests. The document was revised in 1962, and remained in force until 2001. Why did so few bishops know about it?

It is now clear that for more than two decades, simultaneous tragedies of episcopal malfeasance played out in both the U.S. and Irish churches, as bishops in both countries systematically mishandled allegations of child sexual abuse committed by their priests.