The archdiocese in Philadelphia is in serious trouble. Since 2005, they’ve been subject to 2 grand jury reports that found rampant sexual abuse on the part of over 100 priests. The first report, which found 63 priests have been involved in some form of ritualistic abuse, provided no convictions since the statute of limitations had run its course. Another recent report found another 37 priests who had either raped or acted inappropriately with minors, and while some steps have been taken to try and get convictions, most are still under the employ of the Church, and some are still in active duty.

The possibility that even one predatory priest, not to mention three dozen, might still be serving in parishes — “on duty in the archdiocese today, with open access to new young prey,” as the grand jury put it — has unnerved many Roman Catholics here and sent the church reeling in the latest and one of the most damning episodes in the American church since it became engulfed in the sexual abuse scandal nearly a decade ago.

Lots of Catholics in Philly are having problems reconciling their faith with the news the Church appears to have little concern for the well-being of their children. Had they bothered to actually study the thing, they would have found this behavior isn’t at all recent; we’re all just more aware now.

When the archdiocese learns of reports of sexual abuse, it is now supposed to report them to the district attorney, which is what led to the most recent grand jury investigation. Extensions on the statute of limitations also made prosecutions possible this time.

This, at least, is an encouraging sign. The Church’s policy of secrecy has always relied on the fact there is a 10 year statue of limitation on sexual abuse once the victim reaches adulthood. Personally I’ve never understood why it’s necessary to limit the amount of time a pedophile can be prosecuted, especially considering sex abuse victims are traumatized for years, sometimes decades. That’s slowly changing, and yet convictions for these bastards is moving glacially slow. Maybe it might go a little faster if their idiot sheep stopped giving them a bunch of money all the time. Just sayin’.