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Are Catholic reforms truly happening?

Many Catholics dismiss the atrocities in the Bible out of hand by saying, "But that's the Old Testament!" (Can a perfect God change between O.T. and N. T.?). Many Catholics also dismiss the priest abuse scandal by saying things like "it's only 3 percent of priests!" or "it's not my church," or, best, "that is all in the past! They are handling it now" (If it were a store, would you still shop there?).

Unfortunately, these 2014 worldwide headlines make it difficult to keep ignoring the reality of serious problems in the Church:

"Church fought abuse claimants tooth and nail" - Sydney Morning Herald

"U.N. denounces Vatican over child abuse and demands immediate action" - The Guardian

"Our reporter on how paedo priest gained her family's trust" - (Ireland) Sunday World

And from The Associated Press (perhaps the final nail?): "Italy's bishops have adopted a Vatican-backed sex abuse policy that says they have no obligation to inform police if they suspect a child has been molested"

So, after we have all tried to stay "faithful" and proclaimed "that is the past, the pope is making changes!" the Italian bishops reiterate to the world that they don't have to inform authorities if they suspect a child is sexually abused (The church is more important than innocent children?!). To someone less informed than us, it would appear that the bishops are saying: We understand that this child might have been abused, and even though there has been a decadeslong cover-up about this very thing, we are going to reiterate that we still do not feel the need to report the abuse, and we know people will continue to fill the pews and give us money. I wonder if they're right.

Colin Barr

Arlington Heights

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