Bishop Accountability: Making sure that child-abusing clergy can’t hide

Most of us know that catholic bishops have covered up for abusive priests and moved them from one parish to the next unsuspecting group of parishioners. Who is holding these bishops accountable for perpetrating these crimes against children and helpless adults? A small courageous organization, Bishop Accountability has been working to identify, expose and track these bishops, priests and clergy right up to the pope and publish their names on their website: www.bishop-accountability.org The information used to identify the perpetrators comes through the witness of survivors, through documents unearthed by law enforcement and the legal system, through depositions taken by lawyers, and through media reports. It does not come from the bishops who have made every effort to conceal the truth from parishioners and from victims with whom they negotiated settlements. Many of them are fighting the publication of accused priests' names, and even the production of legally subpoenaed files. Bishop Accountability believes that all church files relating to the crisis should be made public – not just those that the bishops and other church hierarchy choose to release. What can we do to help? We can send any information we have about clergy that abused us or anyone we know: photos, clippings, names and dates. We can volunteer to help Bishop Accountability gather information to add to the website. I have spoken to many of you who want to do something to stop child abuse and here is a good opportunity to participate!