What happened: Ray Mouton, a lawyer who defended one of the earliest priests accused of child sex abuse and coauthored a 1985 report highlighting widespread abuse in the Catholic Church, has died at 78.
Why it matters:
- His early warnings brought attention to systemic abuse within the Church.
- Survivors and the Church community were directly impacted by his work.
MNN Take: Mouton's efforts helped expose a long-ignored crisis, influencing how institutions address abuse allegations today.
Sources: NYTimes US