Change "university leaders" to "Vatican leaders" and it's the clerical sex abuse scandal in a track suit. Change "Jerry Sandusky" to "Father Sandusky", change "Joe Paterno" to "Bishop Paterno", and it's the same cast of characters.
Consideration was given to afford the abuser a level of humane consideration. A coach? A priest? The same concern for the perpetrator runs like a common thread.
Investigator Louis Freeh didn't have to go far in determining who knew what, when and who failed to act.
He had only to peruse some existing reports that were prepared by the Ferns diocese and the Dublin archdiocese to get a complete blueprint.
Sadly, what Mr. Freeh has revealed is nothing new.
There was no concern for the children, who were troubled or marginalized by society. Like the countless children who were cycled through the industrial schools or the enormous population of women who were locked away in Magdalene laundries, the victims of abuse were of little or no importance to those who were supposed to be protecting them.
Calls resound for an end to the sports program that employed the pedophile. Threats of lawsuits spring up, accompanied by concern for the financial stability of a fine institution.
The victims of clerical sex abuse in Ireland have yet to be compensated. The women from the Magdalene laundries can't even get a pension in their old age, because they were slave laborers and the Church didn't pay into the pension fund.
The concern is often voiced that the Catholic Church cannot afford to pay compensation. The financial stability of a fine institution is at risk.
Some people are considered untouchable. A priest. A bishop. A coach.
But not the children.
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