Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, today announced that Judge Barbara S. Jones, former Federal Judge and prosecutor, has accepted his invitation to serve as “Special Counsel and Independent Reviewer” to review, evaluate, and recommend improvements to the Archdiocese of New York’s response to the sexual abuse crisis currently confronting the Church.

Over this difficult summer, I’ve done a lot of listening. Many of you have told me that you are upset, angry, bewildered, and frustrated about the ongoing crisis of sexual abuse in the Church. I am not afraid to say that so am I. This has been a painful period for all Catholics.

Russell Shaw offers "bright spots through the storm" of the current crisis afflicting the Church.

Even with all the ugliness that we've seen in the reports of sexual abuse in the Church, we cannot reject the whole because of the evils in some parts. I still see the beauty of the Church I love, the Bride of Christ.

All summer, with news of the stinging scandals—Theodore McCarrick, the Pennsylvania Grand Jury, the controversy caused by Archbishop Vigano’s controversial letter—one right after the other, I began to wonder about the power of Satan, the prince of darkness. While we Catholics were sad, the Devil was laughing.