Aug 19, 2018 3 min read

There is an immense heaviness in the hearts of many Catholics.

It took a grand jury nearly 900 pages to detail the abuses allegedly committed by 301 priests in six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

The details revealed within the report — ones of abuse and cover-ups — were heartbreaking. Reading the full report is emotionally difficult, yet the grand jurors responsible for poring over internal church documents and listening to victim accounts said publishing it was their only recourse.

“We are sick,” they wrote, “over all the crimes that will go unpunished and uncompensated.”

They named names — those who allegedly abused, and those who allegedly covered for them.

“We are going to shine a light on their conduct, because that is what the victims deserve,” they wrote.

There were 99 priests in the Pittsburgh diocese and another 20 in the Greensburg diocese identified in the report. The grand jury felt certain — certain enough to commit their belief to writing — that there are many more victims out there who hadn’t reported what happened and who may never because they bear scars too deep to do so.

Diocesan leaders, and late last week the Vatican, responded with apologies and prayers, and with assurances that the actions of some that seemed to make the church a safe haven for child predators were no more.

Having faith means believing that things have changed and are continuing to evolve; it means believing that those from the top to the bottom realize the grievous error of minimizing or covering up such widespread and horrific abuse.

To do that, those who were victims must be allowed to tell their truth, and we as a society must be willing to listen.

There have been so many comments on delays in reporting; many negative, questioning why victims of abuse would wait years or decades to come forward with accusations.

To those of you who wonder, we urge you to read the story on the front page of today’s newspaper that addresses that. Waiting to reveal something that can be so intensely painful and difficult to discuss does not make it untrue.

Sexual abuse or assault of any kind can bring with it a profound sense of shame and embarrassment. Adult victims can have significant difficulty overcoming those misplaced feelings.

Imagine, for a moment, how deep the impact must go if that victimization occurred as a child. By their nature, children lack the life experience to understand many things and the emotional intelligence to express what they’re going through. They were groomed to be victimized, the report found, and in some cases, convinced the victimization was their fault.

The grand jury believed there were over 1,000 victims identifiable through documentation made by church officials over 70 years in the six dioceses they examined.

They steadfastly believe there are many more, noting they felt it was “crucial” to include the names of deceased priests who were accused of abuse as other victims may still be alive.

“Those victims deserve to know they were not alone. It was not their fault,” the grand jury wrote.

In a pre-recorded homily played at all masses in the Greensburg diocese this weekend, Bishop Edward C. Malesic asked the faithful not only to pray for the victims of abuse, but also to support them.

And so we call upon those of you who may discount decades-old allegations to listen to Malesic.

We urge you to open your hearts to try and understand the complex nature of sexual abuse. Please do not re-traumatize those who have suffered, by dismissing their pain under the auspices of the passage of time.