On January 6, 2002, Epiphany, the research team “Spotlight” published an investigative report in the “Boston Globe”. What the report uncovered would forever damage trust in the Catholic Church: The newspaper’s editors revealed a shockingly high number of clergy abuse cases. And the archdiocese and its boss at the time, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, knew about it.
Disclosure report: abuse, cover-up, protection of perpetrators
A veritable cover-up system came to light, according to which priests who had committed criminal offenses were transferred to other parishes instead of being held responsible – a pattern that was to be repeated countless times in the clarification of church abuse scandals in the next 20 years and, for example, also in The MHG study of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference has proven that perpetrators were protected – systematically and to protect the institution – those affected were disregarded.
The Boston Globe Story as the Church’s Watergate Affair
The Boston Globe revelatory story has been compared with the Watergate affair again and again, as it resulted in a similarly dramatic loss of reputation for the Catholic Church as the Washington Post journalists’ exposure of the Watergate affair at that time did for the US government. President Richard Nixon. After all, he had to resign in August 1974.
Archdiocese of Boston: resignation, processing, compensation for pain and suffering
The Boston Cardinal Bernard Francis Law also had to resign as a result of the Globe publication. He was called to Rome and replaced by Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, who currently holds the bishopric. O’Malley is a staunch and energetic fighter against the grievances. But even he could not make up for the injustice that had occurred. In order to be able to meet the demands for pain and suffering, the archdiocese sold parts of its extensive property – even the Archbishop’s Palace.
Hundreds of people affected in 2002 alone – the scandal is spreading
In the Archdiocese of Boston, of all places, which was considered to be the heart of US Catholicism, more and more affected people spoke up as a result of the publication. In 2002 alone, the “Globe” brought almost 600 articles on the subject. The number of accused clergy rose to 249 – only in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” research was featured in Tom McCarthy’s “Spotlight” award-winning film in 2015. Above all, however, it triggered an unstoppable development that has continued to the present day: the disclosure and processing of abuse in the area of the churches worldwide.
The MHG study published in Germany in 2018 for the area of the Catholic Church documents the cases of 1,670 accused priests and around 3,700 victims of abuse for the investigation period from 1946 to 2015. Critical voices consider this number of victims to be too low. The churches will continue to occupy themselves with coming to terms with the deeds for years to come.
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