In the Netherlands, two boarding school teachers were convicted of molesting children. The following day, the presiding judge sent a letter to a Catholic member of Parliament urging more stringent hiring practices and thorough background checks. The judge’s communication with that member of Parliament resulted in 112 Catholic schools receiving a letter of appeal to take action to prevent the sexual abuse of schoolchildren. That was 1958.
Too often, we hear from Catholic bishops that “we didn’t know” or “how could we have known”. Yet, as is often the case, there were clear signs dating back decades that should have been impetus for change. Only years later does the public find out that people inside these institutions knew about warnings, signs, indications that something is amiss. Undoubtedly, the same will occur with the Penn State sex debacle. One could surmise it’s easier to feign ignorance than admit signs and warnings were ignored. That would make those who ignored such things complicit in the abuse of children.