Clergy ‘shamed by abuse’

PRIESTS and bishops have suffered a loss of confidence in the Catholic Church over its handling of child sex abuse complaints, according to the Time to Listen report.

Many members of the clergy feel shame as a result of the abuse and conceal their identity in public, the study said.

“Overall, clergy who participated in the study reported a significant loss of confidence in Church leadership as a result of mismanagement of child abuse by Church authorities,” said the report.