A December 2013 Vanity Fair story on an alleged "gay lobby" at the Vatican between cardinals, priests and monks that "survives on secrecy" is included, as is a 2018 CNA report on priest-sociologist Father D. Paul Sullins' consideration of sex abuse trends, including apparently strong statistical correlations between sex abuse, a priesthood that is disproportionately homosexual, and a seminary life with a reported "gay subculture."
The reader has several pages listing "troubling headlines" and it recommends the documentary "Sex Abuse in the Church: Code of Silence," made in France about how priests have been reassigned to escape prosecution. It ends with "a disturbing account of how Cardinal Bergoglio handled the case of Fr. Grassi in Buenos Aires."
The reader's appendix lists key documents, online resources, coordinated responses, and books.
"We believe the extent of this problem is tremendous and the time to purify the Church is now," No More Victims said in the reader introduction. "The focus here is on another huge problem: the continuing presence of priests who engage in sexual misconduct with adults, especially males, and the effect they have on the Church ― the harm they have done to victims, their pernicious influence in seminaries, the extent of their influence in dioceses, and the way they impede zealous promotion of the gospel."
"Some of the articles are from a perspective hostile to the Church but that does not negate their veracity," it added. "While many of these articles may seem sensationalist, it is in fact the reality of abuse that is truly responsible for the shocking nature of what is reported."
The introduction said it is difficult to believe all the stories of abuse, but claimed "the sheer volume of them gives credence to them," in addition to the abuse reported in the 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report about six Catholic dioceses in the state.
"If you know any of these articles to report false information, please provide your reasons because we have come to believe the material they contain," No More Victims said, predicting "Once the presence of predator priests and unchaste priests is eliminated, we expect that there will be an influx of devout, chaste men into the priesthood."
"We are lay people who love Jesus, our Church, our bishops, our priests. We know there are holy and exemplary bishops, and bishops who serve us heroically, and we want them to have a Church that fully supports their invaluable work," said the group.
"We know that many bishops have inherited messes of various kinds and it seems that often the default way of dealing with priests who live immoral lives is to look the other way. But we think that is the wrong answer–the Church deserves priests fully committed to being faithful to their vows, and those who are not ought to reform or resign."
The group said it does not aim to force bishops to resign or to embarrass or harass them. Rather, it wants bishops to take strong action to restore trust in the episcopacy.
"We don't intend to stop praying, fasting, and advocating for change until that happens," No More Victims said.
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