Keep Talking
Keep Talking
Dan Riley
Episode 148: Walter Robinson - How Journalists Exposed the Catholic Sexual Abuse Story
1 hour 26 minutes Posted Mar 28, 2025 at 9:00 am.
Walter Robinson is an investigative journalist, an editor-at-large at "The Boston Globe," and is the Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.This is a rebroadcast of episode 42, from 2022.------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------
Intro
A path to journalism
The power and state of the Catholic Church during the late 80s and 90s
"The Boston Globe's" "Spotlight" team
The Catholic Church's reputation before the Spotlight team’s investigation
What was revealed in the church’s internal documents
The Church’s consistent strategy of protecting abusive priests
Nearly every bishop in every diocese knew about abuse and participated in a cover-up
The role of the Church's celibacy vow in incentivizing abuse
What explains the abusive behavior of Catholic Church priests?
Women's second-class status and the role of a free press
The need for a full confession from the Church
The role of investigative journalism today and why it matters
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Show notes
Walter Robinson is an investigative journalist, an editor-at-large at "The Boston Globe," and is the Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.This is a rebroadcast of episode 42, from 2022.------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:58) A path to journalism(10:00) The power and state of the Catholic Church during the late 80s and 90s(21:40) "The Boston Globe's" "Spotlight" team(28:10) The Catholic Church's reputation before the Spotlight team’s investigation(35:59) What was revealed in the church’s internal documents(40:56) The Church’s consistent strategy of protecting abusive priests(46:58) Nearly every bishop in every diocese knew about abuse and participated in a cover-up(53:27) The role of the Church's celibacy vow in incentivizing abuse(59:36) What explains the abusive behavior of Catholic Church priests?(01:04:06) Women's second-class status and the role of a free press(01:07:55) The need for a full confession from the Church(01:15:48) The role of investigative journalism today and why it matters(01:20:43) The importance of investigative journalists to think outside the box