In recent years, the Catholic church has been the center of a slew of reports of abusive priests who allegedly used their positions of power to abuse children over the course of, in some cases, decades.

These reports of allegedly abusive priests have implications on a national scale for the church, but also on a much more personal level for the individual victims and communities involved.

Parishioners in San Jose have demanded that the Diocese of San Jose, which is preparing its own investigation, be as transparent as possible moving forward, according to The Mercury News.

Around 70 people gathered at Our Lady of the Rosary during a listening session, which was meant to allow them to ask questions and present concerns over the upcoming investigation. Many were outwardly outraged over the Catholic Church’s response to allegations of abuse over the last few years, arguing that the church had waited far too long to take action, in many cases even concealing the actions of abusive priests.

Some noted that because of these abusive priests and how the church has dealt with (or not dealt with) them, they have lost faith in church leaders. Others still have said that they’re abandoning Catholicism completely.

One San Jose parishioner who attended the listening session said that, in the 1970s, he was molested by a priest in Albany, New York. “At the time I told no one,” the man, John Hesler, told The Mercury News. “I was certain that somehow it was my fault.” Hesler didn’t report the abuse until the 1990s. However, despite his report, the priest wasn’t removed from his post until 2002. Later, he discovered that other children had been victims of this priest.

The bishop hosting the listening sessions, Bishop Patrick McGrath, said in response to some losing faith and trust in Catholic leaders, “If people feel they have a better relationship with God outside of the church, I understand that.”

The Mercury News reports that next month, the names of clergy that have been credibly accused of sex abuse will be released to the public. The release of this information comes after an August grand jury report in Pennsylvania looking into decades of widespread sex abuse by abusive priests, as well as cover-ups by other officials.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Sex Abuse Grand Jury

The Pennsylvania grand jury’s investigation found that more than 300 abusive priests and other church leaders were involved in the Catholic church sex abuse scandal, committing sexual crimes against more than one thousand prepubescent children as well as teenage children.

“We subpoenaed, and reviewed, half a million pages of internal diocesan documents,” wrote the grand jury in its report. They also relied on witness testimony. “They contained credible allegations against over three hundred predator priests. Over one thousand child victims were identifiable, from the church’s own records.”

The extensive cover-up has allowed many instances of sexual abuse to pass the statute of limitations, meaning that the predators involved can no longer be prosecuted. Even so, the grand jury included the names of both the abusive priests found through their investigation and those who covered up for them.

The grand jury members, who spent two years investigating this abuse, unanimously declared that their report should be released, unredacted. Though this is an unusual move, the panel objected to any attempts to “censor, alter, redact or amend” their document, preferring instead to make the content public.

“We listened as [the victims] poured out their hearts telling of the agony and torment they endured since being victimized,” wrote the panel of 20 members. “They had waited so long to be heard; they deserve to be heard and validated.”

Filing a Catholic Church Sex Abuse Lawsuit

If you or someone you love was sexually abused by a Catholic priest or another church leader in California, you may be able to join a Catholic church sex abuse lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by sexual abuse, but it can help to provide some monetary compensation.