“It’s considered essential to the exercise of religion to have a priest-penitent privilege that will allow people to approach their clergy for the purpose of unburdening themselves, their mind, their soul … to seek peace and consolation with God as well as with their fellow beings,” Utah state Rep. Nelson told the AP. “Without that assurance of secrecy, troubled people will not confide in their clergy.”

Therapists across the country were suddenly certain that horrendous and repeated abuse could instantaneously be walled away in the unconscious, where it would remain inaccessible for decades, until unlocked in therapy and re-experienced with perfect clarity. For Dr. Loftus and others, there was simply no support in the scientific literature or in all the historical stories of human suffering that supported this type of repression and retrieval.

“We take every allegation seriously and follow the policies and procedures we have had in place for decades,” said the archbishop. “Only by conducting an impartial and thorough investigation can we fulfill our promise to protect the young people in our care and, if the results warrant, restore the good name of one so accused.” We will communicate the outcome of the Independent Review Board’s work on these cases when the processes are complete.

The Holy Father reiterated the Church’s commitment to zero tolerance of abuse, saying “a priest cannot continue to be a priest if he is an abuser. He can’t. I want to be very clear about this: Abuse by churchmen and churchwomen — abuse of authority, abuse of power and sexual abuse – is a monstrosity, because the churchman or churchwoman, whether priest, religious man or woman, or layman or laywoman, is called to serve and to create unity, to make grow, and abuse always destroys."

The ballot gives each clergy sexual assault survivor the opportunity to say "yes" or "no" to what the archdiocese is offering to compensate them for the abuses. If most abuse survivors vote to support the archdiocese plan, the judge still must confirm it. Most of the 270-plus clergy sex abuse claimants turned in their ballots by Monday's deadline, but there's no official tally yet whether a majority voted to support or reject the church settlement offer.

A federal judge has issued orders preventing the archdiocese from paying priests their monthly stipends if they have been accused of abuse. Bishops are required by canon law to provide for the “decent support” of all their incardinated clerics, including accused priests — this isn’t an option, it’s an obligation Rome has insisted on. In this case, the judge has basically told the archdiocese it may not conduct itself in accordance with Church law.

The district court's Chief Judge ordered attorneys representing the Holy See, or the State of the Vatican City, to ask the pope if he can resolve the archdiocese clergy sex abuse cases as opposed to settling it in court. The Vatican's attorneys wrote that the Judge's inquiry was inappropriate and went on to explain judicial inquires directed at Pope Francis are improper, stating that as head of state he has "absolute immunity and personal inviolability,"

The plaintiff's attorney said that since the State courts have permitted plaintiffs to subpoena the proceedings of diocesan review boards, they should make the same decision when it comes to the investigation of bishops, but if it would preclude that, then that would mean that a victim of a bishop has less rights to discovery than the victim of a parish priest. "Obviously if it's strictly just communication with the pope, that would be excluded under the First Amendment, we don't object to that.”