It isn’t just the Catholic Church that has the problem. It seems exaggerated but in fact, the Catholic Church is a very large institution. That there are large numbers should come as no surprise.

The problems exist in the public school system, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and so on. It also exists in the Jewish religious community as well as every Christian Church and in every other religion. Often these groups have another dysfunction on common: denial.

Any structure that places children under the supervision of non family adults or provides access to them is an institution that will attract dysfunctional adults. The challenge is to make these institutions safe for children and to continuously screen the adults- no small matters.

The disaster is always prolonged and made worse by the cover ups and the refusal by the institution to make safety a priority.