When we know better we must do better. Religions and churches do not get a pass when they protect perpetrators and themselves at the expense of children. The magnitude of the damage to these children is hard to fathom.

It is a terrible truth that churches go to great lengths to hide abuse and shame victims to protect their own interests. Such seems the case reported by the AP where a help line was called rather than the police.

“The help line is certainly there to help — to help the church keep its secrets and to cover up abuse,” said Craig Vernon, an Idaho attorney who has filed several sex abuse lawsuits against the church.

Vernon, a former member, routinely demands that the church require bishops to report sex abuse to police or state authorities rather than the help line.

Read the full article "Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen".