Dear Troubled Catholics - A Letter from Ralph Martin About the Current Crisis

I have never seen so many "ordinary Catholics"-who usually never follow or hear about Church news-as deeply troubled as I have seen them in response to the recent revelations about the retired archbishop of Washington, DC.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was asked by the pope to resign from his membership in the College of Cardinals and ordered to live in seclusion until a canonical trial can be held to verify the validity of charges of sexual abuse and harassment made against him. After the first brave person came forward (whose accusations were found credible by the Archdiocese of New York Review Board), more and more followed. The climate of fear among many of our clergy-the fear of being punished or marginalized if they report sexual immorality among their fellow clergy or leaders-is starting to break. Cardinal McCarrick is now known as Archbishop McCarrick.
What has been so disturbing to so many people is the fact that there had been numerous warnings to various church officials that …