I think the mystery that would puzzle most readers of stories like those the Dallas News is publishing is…why?

What is the root of the reluctance (to put it mildly) to remove even even convicted abusers from some sort of active priestly ministry or even in the priesthood at all? No one in the hierarchy seems to understand or be able to credibly answer this question…why the extreme lengths to be pastoral to abusive clerics and the general suspicion and ill-treatment of victims? Certainly no one wants molesters let loose in society without tracking, supervision and treatment, and cooperation between all parties to ensure that it happens, but there are other alternatives, there is a middle ground.

Honestly, what it show the outsider to Church institutional business is that the bond of clerical mutuality (aka clericalism) is just about the strongest bond there seems to be. It’s not unprecedented – we see it in any tightly-knit group that is left to self-police itself. The education establishment, doctors, police officers, the military…

But we are still shocked and dismayed to find it among those Jesus called to empty themselves, most of all, to serve, to put Him and his Cross first, those who are charged with care of the “little ones.”