One bishop’s conscience: Why the Catholic Church is slow to change amid sex-abuse crisis

Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico has been outspoken about the sexual abuse scandals that have stained the Catholic Church. Even he is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Air Date: February 28, 2019

Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence T. Persico reads a statement during a news conference at the St. Mark Catholic Center in Erie on Aug. 14. In responding to the state Attorney General's grand jury report on sex abuses in the Catholic Diocese of Erie and five other Pennsylvanian Roman Catholic dioceses, Persico apologized to the victims and detailed steps the diocese is taking to keep abuse from occurring again. (AP Photo/Erie Times-News, Christopher Millette)

It’s been more than six months since a bombshell Pennsylvania grand jury report revealed hundreds of priests had abused more than 1,000 children in six of the state’s Roman Catholic dioceses. Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico has been outspoken about the scandal that has rocked the church. Last week, Pope Francis called 190 bishops to the Vatican for a summit, but critics and abuse survivors were disappointed that the event yielded no action plan. And even Persico is taking a wait-and-see approach. On this episode of The Why, Persico joins us to talk about why, after all the revelations and high-level meetings, the church is slow to change.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.