Catholic Lay Group Wants More Responsibility To Investigate Clergy Sexual Abuse
A panel of lay advisers to U.S. Catholic bishops sees a "systemic problem" in the church that can only be addressed independently of Catholic authorities.
A group of Catholics empowered to advise U.S. bishops on their handling of clergy sex abuse is accusing the bishops of "a loss of moral leadership" and recommending that lay Catholics like themselves should henceforth be responsible for investigating clergy misconduct.
The National Review Board, a lay panel established in 2002 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that allegations against former Washington, D.C., Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and accounts of clergy abuse detailed in a recent Pennsylvania grand jury report reflect "a systemic problem within the Church that can no longer be ignored or tolerated by the episcopacy in the United States."
