Knights of Columbus leader urges church reforms after abuse

The leader of the world's largest Roman Catholic fraternal group is condemning clergy sex abuse and calling for reforms in the church, including a renewed commitment to celibacy by priests.

Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the New Haven, Connecticut-based Knights of Columbus, made the comments in what appeared to be an unusual letter to the group's nearly 2 million members on Tuesday.

Anderson cited revelations this year including sexual abuse allegations against retired archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, and a grand jury report accusing church leaders of covering up the abuse of more than 1,000 children or teenagers by some 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania since the 1940s.

"These sins of commission and omission have sent the Church we love, the Church we serve and the Church that Jesus Christ established into convulsions," Anderson wrote. "Sadly, the disgrace not only is borne by the perpetrators, it hurts us all, as does the silence of shepherds who have ignored the cries of their flocks."
"Archbishop McCarrick and others at fault owe us a full account of their actions, motivations and cover-ups," he wrote. "After years of having us confess to them, it is now time for them to come clean about what they have done and what they have failed to do."
Two months ago, Pope Francis ordered McCarrick removed from public ministry amid allegations the 88-year-old retired archbishop sexually abused a teenage altar boy and engaged in sexual misconduct with adult seminarians decades ago. Last month, the pope accepted McCarrick's resignation as cardinal and ordered him to a "life of prayer and penance."