Nicholas P. Cafardi is a civil and canon lawyer. He is Dean emeritus of Duquesne University School of Law and former general counsel to the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. His most recent book is Voting and Faithfulness (Paulist Press, 2020).
We need less “back story” and more openness. If there’s anything we can say with certainty about the sex abuse crisis, it’s that secrecy does more harm than good.
A closer look at both the secret text of the Vatican regarding clerical crimes of solicitation and the confusing lack of authority in dealing with these crimes.