The Catholic Churchs attitude towards the victims: DROP DEAD.  Take former archbishop Bernard Law, for example.  Law played an extensive role in covering up sexual miscondect of predator preiests (one of them was an advocate for Nambla).  The Vatican response was to accept  Laws resination but to appointed him to several authoritative positions in Rome.  Law is currently the archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

this issue had been surfacing for some time but its time to stop talking about it and start doing something about it. we as parents have the responsibility to teach our children that no matter who or what it is that nobody has a right to touch them and that they can always have somebody to turn to and we will listen. my son was in 2nd grade when he began to not want to go to school when he had always been gung ho about going since the day he started. he had said a few things about the teachers behavior that caused concern and i with my son spoke with the principal. i discussed having him changed to another class i was told that was not an option. i was taken to a meeting with the teacher who to me seemed to be trying to intimidate me when the principal stepped out. i took notice that he was moving his tongue around wierdly which i became concerned he was a meth user but i wasn't sure. after returning to the principal's office and still had not come to a solution i was then threatened that i would be prosecuted if i didn't send my son to school but was reassured that the principal would take time to check on my son to make sure all was going well. i told my son he would have to return to his class that we had no choice. my son who never cries became hysterical and thats when i knew something was not right. i told the principal he could do whatever he needed to do but my son would not be returning to school for now and that there was something wrong and i left and i homeschooled him for the remaining 3 months of school and we then moved back to utah. a few months after the next school year began i spoke to a friend in california who informed me that a certain teacher had been charged with molestation of several of his students. my son who was not molested knew there was something to fear from this teacher though he didn't know what. i was thankful that i had relied on my instincts and that i was able to know that his behavior was a warning signal to something not right. i didn't allow myself to be bullied and was willing to fight or go to jail if necessary if it meant my son was safe. children need to be aware that even people in authority like a teacher or a priest deserve respect but at the same time if they use their position to hurt them then they no longer have that authority and don't deserve respect

2003 was just the icing on the cake. There have been various other incidents reported and substantiated over the years. Given the history, I don't think anyone was truly surprised in 2003.

There was absolutely no excuse for this hideous practice to have gone on for so long and in church sanctioned/aided secrecy no less. The church powers that be are just as guilty as the molesters and should be mortally ashamed for refusing to deal with this until they were forced into it. Among the other sins they will no doubt have to explain someday, Im pretty the sin of pride will be near the top of the list. Imagine being so full of yourself that you would let young children suffer to save your social position and ego. How could you possibly continue to hear confessions, say mass and masquerade as a man of God? There should be continued legal action taken until everyone still alive who was involved in any way has been tried and the compensation and whatever closure possible granted the victims. There should also be some very long jail sentences. Sadly, if you look at it from a larger perspective, its difficult to believe that the Catholic Church is the only organization in which these kinds of clandestine atrocities have been committed though it does seem the upper echelon of the church managed to become experts at concealing it for an amazing amount of time. Any large organization with powerful, rich, well placed, rarely questioned leadership is in a position to do the same. You would be amazed at some of the stories of unreported abuse in the U.S. Military alone. The problems start when the powerful become so impressed with themselves that they convince themselves and others that the rules no longer apply to them. In the process, they forget their original purpose. Its kind of ironic how closely all these kinds of scenarios play out with almost an identical plot line as the story of Adam and Eve in the gardenpride really does go before the fall.

Maybe now the healing can begin. It only took them ~1700 years to address this problem. Sexual abuse will always happen, but the church has a responsibility to ensure that it is not being an accomplice to these sick, unfortunate men. I have a variety of issues with religion, and with the Catholic Church, but I can still admire the elders for making at least tentative steps in the direction of justice.

I have to agree, even though I think this is horrible, bad news...this story has been around much longer than 2003...and everytime I have to hear it I get nauseous...

Many people have suspected and known about this horrible practice for many years. I believe Kentucky had more abuse cases then any other state. Sick and sad.

Not exactly a stunning revelation anymore. There has been more than a decade of scandals in North America around this issue. The Church's response has exacerbated the issue.

The majority of Catholic priests are good, honest faithful people so don't let the few a**h**** taint the church. Yes I agree the Catholic church does a lousy job of handling the controversy in order to save face

This issue doesn't seem confined to the year 2003 alone--many scandals were exposed, yes, but I've heard of many before that. As for the issue itself, it's sad that anyone who a child is supposed to trust completely, a role model, could be so sick and demented.