An advertisement on a public bus reads \u201cEnd clergy sex abuse now,\u201d with an image of a silhouette of a priest in a Roman collar and a phone number for a lawyer.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s open season on priests, and there seems to be no end in sight. To date, more than $4 billion<\/a> has been paid out in court verdicts or settlements to victims of clerical sex abuse in the United States. In April, the Diocese of Camden, N.J. agreed to settle claims for $87.5 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n Priests and the Catholic Church are routinely fodder for comics. On the season finale of \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d Colin Jost, a Catholic, cited the story about nuns resorting to TikTok to boost vocations and said, \u201cWhen the Catholic Church tries to connect with young people, it always goes well.\u201d The audience groaned instead of laughing.<\/p>\n It is very difficult for a priest accused today to get a fair hearing. A priest is considered guilty until proven innocent even by the church. I know several long-time priests with otherwise unblemished records accused last November. Their priesthoods are effectively over.<\/p>\n New Jersey and New York relaxed their statutes of limitations on child sex abuse lawsuits, and accusations dating back 50 years were filed in civil court. Nonetheless, before an investigation, the priest is yanked from his assignment, cannot wear clerics, must find his own lodging and is often sued by the diocese to recoup any funds and has to hire his own lawyer. And this process can drag on for months and often years.<\/p>\n FILE – Congregants including rows of priests, left, attend a Mass at Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J. <\/span>(Mel Evans\/AP)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n The hierarchy allows this injustice to continue. In 2002, after The Boston Globe uncovered massive cover-ups of pedophile priests in Boston, the Conference on Catholic Bishops hastily crafted \u201cThe Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.\u201d<\/a> The charter established that priests with even one credible accusation be removed. This process began a 20-year period of purification to help restore the church\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n But a 2004 study carried out by John Jay College concluded that 4% of priests dating back 50 years<\/a> were abusers. In other words, the overwhelming majority of priests in the U.S. do not harm their flock.<\/p>\n The Charter\u2019s essential norms state, \u201cA priest or deacon who is accused\u2026is to be accorded the presumption of innocence during the investigation\u2026and all appropriate steps are to be taken to protect his reputation.\u201d Back then some bishops, including Avery Cardinal Dulles, raised concerns that innocent priests could be railroaded.<\/p>\n \u2018\u2019In their effort to protect children, to restore public confidence in the church as an institution and to protect the church from liability suits, the bishops opted for an extreme response,\u2019\u2019 Dulles wrote in the Jesuit magazine, America.<\/p>\n Weekdays<\/p>\n Catch up on the day\u2019s top five stories every weekday afternoon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/resizer\/BLO5iKoRjDuyjMOXfRNg6IL9aOk=\/1440x0\/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/tronc\/YCIU4UVFYBYRQQNHICAHR3IRIE.jpg\")
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The Daily News Flash<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n