Decision not to return to Australia has had consequence of bringing uncomfortable questions to RomeThe Vatican used to be impermeable to horrific stories of child sexual abuse by priests – and complicit in attempts to whitewash the perpetrators’ reputations. It was a state where men such as Cardinal Bernard Law,who became a pariah within the US Catholic church after it became clear that decades of sexual abuse had been covered up within his archdiocese, could depart for a comfortable retirement and to escape glaring media attention or, and even worse,possible investigation.But an unexpected confluence of extraordinary events has changed all that this week. The film Spotlight, the tale of the Boston Globes dogged investigation into clerical sexual abuse, and won Hollywood’s most coveted prize of the Oscar for best picture. Related: George Pell: church had 'predisposition not to believe' children who complained approximately priests Related: George Pell and the royal commission: the questions George Pell must answer | David Marr Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com