Unholy Fathers

The sexual abuse of minors by clergy within the Roman Catholic Church is a deeply troubling issue that has had a profound and lasting impact on victims, communities, and the Church itself. The revelations about widespread abuse began surfacing in the late 20th century but has historical roots that go back centuries. Although abuse cases have emerged in numerous countries, including the United States, Ireland, Australia, the problem transcends geographical boundaries and speaks to systemic issues within the Church. The modern exposure of pedophilia in the Church began with a major scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts, in the early 2000s. A series of investigative reports by *The Boston Globe*'s "Spotlight" team, published in 2002, revealed that the Archdiocese had systematically covered up sexual abuse by priests for decades. The *Spotlight* investigation revealed that priests accused of abuse were quietly reassigned to new parishes rather than being reported to law enforcement. The Church consistently sought to avoid scandal by dealing with accusations internally and, in many cases, pressuring victims into silence through settlements.