Days of light and darkness in the Catholic Church

THESE are days of darkness and light for many in the Catholic Church. The horrific exposes of clerical sexual abuse against children around the world — in the United States, Ireland, Australia, Poland, Germany, Austria and the latest, in France — are stunning and shocking, and there are more to come. It is just a matter of time.

The cover-up of clerical sexual abuse of children by some church authorities in cahoots with some civil authorities never seems to end. It has brought shame, embarrassment and loss of respect to dedicated, innocent priests and clerics and lay people.