A lack of Transparency and Accountability is a huge temptation, even for the best of us…

By Maria Ortiz Perez
March 25th, 2010

It seems that the Catholic Church scandals are the only thing that one can find in the newspapers these days. I usually don’t write about this topic, but there is something I would like to point out: a lack of transparency and accountability in institutions, be the Church or be Government, is more often than not a breeding ground for malpractice and abuse of power.

Recent news about the developments of child abuse cases in the Catholic Church are most concerning, particularity when I read over and over about the secrecy and lack of accountability with which these cases are handled by Church leaders.

Although members of spiritual/ethical institutions are expected to behave differently from the rest of us, it is in fact no surprise that some members have been “tempted” to take advantage of their impunity.

The most heartbreaking,  horrific stories are coming to light, with plenty of evidence to prove the cause of the victims, and it is yet not clear what the consequences for the perpetrators will be. Who will hold these folks accountable?

Unless this becomes clear, and we stop hoping one institution will hold itself accountable for its own faults, it is predictable than not only more cases will come to light, but also that new cases will continue to be silenced.