text: "the problem is in the total governance of the Catholic Church."  YES! YES! YES!
  
  As many of us who have been advocating for survivors and investigating abuse for now decades have been saying:  The issue of the governance model in the Catholic Church actually encourages - and may really ensure - the assaults on children by priests and bishops.  My experience: Whenever women had an opportunity to intervene to stop the abuse, children were safer from predation.
  
  There is NO ACCOUNTABILITY in a feudal, all-male oligarchy!  Especially a hierarchy that has unfettered access to mountains of money to fund their cover-ups of  sexual assault and exploitation as does the Catholic priesthood.  If the People controlled the money used to abuse children, much of the abuse would be significantly reduced.  The People would more likely to report the abuse to civil authorities.
  
  Real checks and balances. Democracy works.  Let the PEOPLE DECIDE!