My parents subscribed to the National Catholic Reporter back in the 80s, so I’ve been on this for a very long time. I thought the movie Spotlight did an amazing job with the issue, so much better than I expected, honestly, of covering the assorted factors and incentives that contributed to this being the status quo…

I’m not averse to recognizing the assorted flaws, systemic and individual, of the Catholic hierarchy, but the “organized crime syndicate” frame is both absurd and unhelpful. Big institutions cover up dirt. People don’t want to believe that the seemingly nice man is a child molester. Everyone convinces themselves that…