By

Damian Thompson

A thousand victims. Hundreds of priests. How many cardinals knew?

An abuse cover-up in six Pennsylvania dioceses has disgusted Catholics across America.

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 08: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, speaks during a news conference with senators and national religious leaders to respond to attempts at vilifying refugees and to call on lawmakers to engage in policymaking and not ‘fear-mongering’ at the U.S. Capitol December 8, 2015 in Washington, DC. Following last week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calinfornia, leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called on Monday for the United States to bar all Muslims from entering the country. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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A Pennsylvania grand jury report released last night has revealed that the Catholic Church in six dioceses systematically and sneakily covered up sexual abuse by priests on a horrifying scale.

The American Church has now been plunged into the worst crisis in its history. The 884-report comes less than a month after the revelation that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington DC, was a compulsive predator. His serial molestation of seminarians was an open secret, and cannot possibly have come as a surprise to some of his friends in the American hierarchy.

The grand jury report – which examined only a…

By

Damian Thompson

Damian Thompson is an associate editor of The Spectator

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