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As U.S. bishops gear up for their November meeting in Baltimore, they're divided over who should investigate their systemic cover-up of clerical sex abuse that sparked the #CatholicMeToo movement.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington was roundly mocked for saying he wanted bishops to investigate themselves.
Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany also rejected Wuerl's proposal:
"I think we have reached a point where bishops alone investigating bishops is not the answer. To have credibility, a panel would have to be separated from any source of power whose trustworthiness might potentially be compromised."
And he's not alone. Bishop Timothy Doherty of Lafayette, Indiana is also calling for an independent investigation of the bishops' conspiracy of silence.
The same day as Wuerl's statement came out, Bp. Doherty said, "It is not impossible for the conference to hire an outside investigator."
Adding that the bishops did just that in 2002 when the U.S. bishops appointed the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to investigate clerical sex abuse.
Wuerl also wants Rome to have the final say in the investigation, but according to experts, more than half the clerics in Rome are gay.
With the #CatholicMeToo movement growing daily, the only question left for bishops is not if they'll be investigated but who will investigate them.
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