Pope Benedict names a predictable slate of prelates from high-profile dioceses to the investigation team for Ireland. I suppose if you have to go toe to toe with a cardinal on his questionable behavior, the Bishop of Juneau lacks the heft. Still, a traditional solution isn’t drawing universal acclaim in lay circles:

Terrence McKiernan, founder and president of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks church records on abuse cases, said an apostolic visitation was by its nature a secretive approach that recapitulated the fundamental problem underlying the sex abuse crisis. “To employ a secretive process to solve a problem caused by secrecy,” he said, “seems to us problematic.”

While some are noting and nodding at the high-profile bishops on the I-Team, I’m sure two or three Irish hierarchs are relieved they won’t have to face down either a lay psychologist or a parent.

About these ads