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Canisius College's president wants to see more women in leadership positions in the catholic church

Posted at 5:38 PM, Aug 31, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-31 17:38:59-04

Canisius College President, Dr. John Hurley said it’s disturbing to watch the sexual abuse scandals unfold in the catholic church. 

He said one way to prevent these scandals is to have more women in leadership positions. 

“I think there is a way to involve women in a much more serious way than we’ve been doing,” Hurley said. 

Hurley said women within the church have been marginalized for centuries. He wants to see women on the board that reviews the sexual abuse allegations. 

“If we had that populated by women who had training in this area and if they were directing how the cases were handle, maybe we would see some different results,” Hurley said. 

“I would love it if it all it took was to be a woman and no woman ever abused anyone in the history of the world. But we all know it’s not the case,” Rev. Joan Montagnes said. 

She said the lack of women isn’t the root issue. The power structure in the Catholic church is the problem. 

“The power structure that has led to the lack of transparency, the covers which could allow for the level of abuse we’ve been seeing lately,” Montagnes said. 

Montagnes heads the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo. She said once the power structure of the catholic church shifts, it would then open the door for minorities and women to lead. 

“The president of Canisius is asking questions, talking about outrage. This is the moment for them(catholic church) to break their heart wide wide open,” Montagnes said. 

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