REad this article: Wis. man cleared after girl admits lying about sexual assault
At what point do you throw a man to the dogs because of an accusation? How do you know if the accusation is true or false?
At what point do you sacrifice a child's safety? not to mention the devastation to their very soul and that of their families?
When the emphasis is on helping the abuser ...not helping the victim.. nor identifying other victims.... This is NOT repentance in any Christian understanding of the term....and this is not just a problem of individuals, but of the catholic church itself.
Furthermore if the actions of the catholic hierarchy, and the pope himself, with respect to these crimes are measured by the words of Jesus... then the crimes, the coverups, and the special pleading that is going on merit the following quotation:
"whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea"
Moreover...had the catholic church addressed the issues over the decades instead of hiding and protecting their clergy it's doubtful if any false accusations would have come about....but now rather than convict the very criminals they are retiring them, and a host of other measures taken which continues to "cover" the church and it;s leadership
Additionally,... because the church is "paying off" victims...they have brought on themselves this entire mess...and left themselves wide open for false accusations as well...the blame is completely on the church for the entire outcome...fairly or not the ultimate responsibility is on the church and it's leadership who were well aware of these happenings.
Gross sin has a price....covering that sin will always be even worse...it has been no secret among the membership or leadership that these rapes and abuse against children were occurring for decades.....there are no innocents among the membership or leadership....it's been a part of the catholic culture and all were aware of it.