No, I think the author is saying that we can either believe the tripe put out by this Roman Catholic commission excusing all sorts of pederasty/pedophilia/corruption or we can believe our own lying eyes which tell us this scandal continues unabated throughout the RCC right up to the present today.
Then the author ought to have said that. Instead what the article reads is “The report’s conclusion was counterintuitive to many Catholics and abuse victims” Which means their conclusion is based on their own personal feelings and not on evidence.
You might be fooled by the continuation of the sentence which reads “because the scandal itself did not peak until 2002 with the revelations that the archbishop of Boston had knowingly reassigned serial abusers to serve in ministries where they continued to have access to young people.”
Now does the above contradict the main claim the article has issue with which is that abuse peaked in the 60’s and 70’s? No it does not. Because it is one of the agreed upon facts of the scandal that the most of the abuse was not reported until decades after it occurred. That this reporting was indeed very largly in response to the expose by the Boston Globe. Publication gave many victims the courage to finally come forward and report to civil and church authorities what happened.
There is an assumption by those who debate the report that since the scandal was first made known in 2002 (why they conclude that means it peaked then I don’t know) The abuse itself must have peaked at that time. That is an illogical and erroneous conclusion.
Does that mean that all abuse ceased after the 1970’s? No it does not? Does it mean no more victims are likely to come forward? No it does not.
But it can be said with firm conviction based on the evidence at hand that most of the abuse happened in the decades of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. That is what is meant by peaked.
If the evidence does not satisfy people that is just too bad for them.
I just want to point out that the John Jay College of Criminal Justice is not part of a Catholic Commission. Nice try though.