The scandals were abhorrent, humiliating–a time of real shame for the Catholic Church and all its members (and it remains a stain, with fallout that remains and work yet to be done). The “liberal media” deserves a debt of gratitude for, as papal biographer George Weigel made clear in his excellent book at the time, The Courage to Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church.

He wrote, memorably: “If God could work through the Assyrians in the Old Testament, God can certainly work through the New York Times and the Boston Globe today, whether the Times or the Globe realize what’s happening or not.”