(Editor's note: The original version of this column, published March 29, contained an assertion -- regarding differences in clergy-sex-abuse scandals between the Roman Catholic context and the Protestant context -- that many readers found unsupportable. The author changed the column accordingly. The version published below contains a slight alteration to the second sentence of the second paragraph, elimination of what had been the eighth paragraph, and a replacement of the final paragraph.)

(ABP) -- The child-sexual-abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church has resurfaced with a vengeance, with events in Ireland, Germany, and the United States having been the subjects of recent reporting. A particularly nauseating case involves a Wisconsin priest who is accused of molesting at least one young boy in the confessional, perhaps the holiest and most trusted space in Catholic life. As one who grew up Catholic, I know exactly what that sacred space is supposed to mean.