“It’s our little secret.”

Recently, the catholic church has been involved with the horrific issue of pedophilia. According to the New York Post, 300 priests sexually abused more than 1,000 children. This was covered up by the bishops, priests, church officials and even the Pope.

In the report released by Pennsylvania Grand Jury, Horrific instances of abuse are catologeda priest who raped a young girl in the hospital after she had her tonsils out: a victim tied up and whipped with leather straps by a priest and another priest who was allowed to stay in ministry after impregnating a young girl and arranging for her to have an abortion.

With all of these awful issues in the Catholic church occurring what should be done?

First off, I think the Pope should resign from his position.

According to the New York Times Cardinal Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, asked the Pope to resign.

The Pope does not seem to care about the well-being of the children that are apart of the Catholic church or the fact that these children have been scarred for the rest of their life emotionally and physically.

According to USA Today, the Pope removed a woman from the church forcibly because she accused him of covering up her son’s sexual assault by a priest. The Pope does not seem to care about the religious duties he has been called too. It looks like he cares more about his social status in the Catholic church than he does for the people of the church which is why it is great that he has been asked to resign.

The Pope not only has religious duties but also political. The Pope has the duty to meet with the heads of state and deals with more than 100 nations. Knowing that he has so much contact with other nations and so much power, yet he covered up many sexual assault incidents is a terrifying thought.

Secondly, I believe that the priests who abused those children and the church officials who covered up the abuse should resign and be removed. Some of the priests have been removed.

I believe the priests should sincerely apologize to their congregation and the families that they have caused pain to.

While laws are different in different states, I believe that the priests should go to jail for the awful effect they have left on the lives of those children and their families.

I find it ironic that in the Catholic congregation, the people of the church confess their sins to the priests, but some of the priests are covering up their secrets of pedophilia as well as the church officials.

Church officials who knew about the rapes were allowed to keep their jobs or were even promoted to a higher position.

If your church officials do not understand the emotional affect rape leaves on a child and their family members, as well as how wrong it is to cover up such a horrific act, then they should not be apart of the Catholic church.

To prevent such a traumatic event from reoccurring, I believe there should be extensive background checks, psychological tests and drug tests before someone becomes a priest. A priest has access to important parts of a person’s lives which is their emotional well-being and their religious beliefs.

People normally share with their pastors, bishop or priests what religious doubts they have, what is occurring at home with family members, financial problems and so much more. With such detailed information about that person’s life, a person who wants the job as a priest should be thoroughly investigated and made sure that they are not sexual predators.

It is horrible that a family cannot feel safe in their own church and must watch everyone that encounters their children because of these incidents that have occurred with the priests.

Hopefully, the Catholic church will find a better Pope who cares for the well-being of those apart of the church as well as priests who are extensively checked for any criminal records or mental disorders.

Also, hopefully the church officials who covered up the incident will be asked to resign from their positions. This will lead to a safer environment for those apart of the Catholic church.