take the decisive action on the sexual abuse crisis. there is hope that we are moving in the right direction. to say you can do everything but, actually end up with an action item that the end is frustrating to us. reporter: the two crucial measures, the new code of conduct of bishops and civilian led investigative body to look at high ranking abuse, or are abusers themselves, the delay angering victims and the message it sends. what they are telling catholics and the american public is we care more about our organization, titles and positions than we care about children. reporter: since the last meeting in the spring, witnessed the fall from grace of theater mccarrick forced to resign and withdraw from ministry after a long history of abuse. then came the bombshell grand jury report uncovering 300 abusive priests and 1000 victims. since then 12 states of open
is more complicated than we thought. away was before hand thought of as one of the good guys. reporter: the grand jury report credits whirl for standing up to the vatican in some cases of abuse, but also suggests he guided at least one accused priest back into service. cardinal whirl defended himself by saying his dieio cease worked to exceed the conference of bishops and reporting requirements of pennsylvania law, but those are laws that critics say the catholic church is working overtime to influence in its favor. take bishop ronald gainer from harrisburg, he s one of the bishops expressing sorrow for the vigts of his dioceses. he s head the pennsylvania catholic conference, a group that aggressively lobbies against reforming the statute of limit tagtss. the catholic conference has been tenacious in opposing this, and of course they have allies in the pennsylvania legislature.
children were victimized by more than 300 predator priests, and the bishops who hid their crimes over 70 years. the statute of limitations for prosecution has run out for all but two priests. the grand jury has issued its report of findings. reporter: pennsylvania bishops have released statements expressing their sadness for the victims, but that is not enough for terry mckeirnan. reporter: the founder of accountability.org. an organization that s akusds thousands of priests, a database that s about to grow significantly. take the dioceses of pittsburgh. the investigation revealed that it sheltered 99 predator priests, more than double the amount previously known to him. from 1988 to 2006, that dioceses was led by bishop don eled whirl, now a high profile cardinal in d.c. world s legacy in pittsburgh
general says there have already been more than 150 calls and e-mails to its clergy sexual abuse hot line since it was set up on thursday. that follows a grand jury report that detailed decades of abuse by priests and cover-ups by bishops. here s cnn s rosa flores. the word god makes me think of him. reporter: the voices still demanding justice. while the bombshell grand jury report revealed more than 1,000 children were victimized by more than 300 predator priests. and the bishops who hid their crimes over 70 years. the statute of limitations for prosecution has run out for all but two priests. the grand jury has issued its report of findings. reporter: pennsylvania bishops have released statements expressing their sadness for the victims. but that is not enough for terry mckieran. it s a lot of sadness in these file cabinets. reporter: the founder of bishop accountability.org.
revelations and that the time to discuss legislation will come later. pennsylvania attorney general also pointing the finger at the church, saying he believed that two unnamed catholic church leaders tried to, quote, silence the victims and avoid accountability. he says pope francis, the one man with the power to hold everyone involved accountable, has not yet responded. transparency and accountability are the only thing that s going to save this church. reporter: rosa flores, cnn, miami. i want to talk more about this shocking grand jury report and now the vatican s response. joining us now is father edward beck, a catholic barista and cnn religion commentator. father beck, always good to have you on. unfortunate the circumstances this time. as a priest, seen a lot of other comments on twitter and other social media platforms from people like yourself about their feelings. i m curious how you re feeling right now, given the news this week. pretty awful, ana. this is like a wou