Vatican letter told Bishops not to report child abuse

A newly disclosed Vatican document reveals that officials instructed Ireland’s bishops not to report all suspected child abuse cases to the police. David Clohessy, director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says that the 1997 letter undermines persistent Vatican claims that Rome never instructed bishops to withhold evidence. Joe Rigert is a journalist and author of “An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse by Irish Priests Helped Cripple the Catholic Church,” and puts this new development in context.