Blaine founded SNAP in 1988, years after she was abused as an 8th grader by a Toledo, Ohio, priest who taught at the Catholic school she attended, according to the organization's website. Her pleas for help to Toledo's bishop were ignored. The group gained prominence in 2002 after the Boston Globe's stories on the priest sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church.

The cardinal said while the world is "ever ready to headline the flaws of the church," the dynamic changes when "her loyal members are more than willing to own up to them."

"We have a priest who makes everyone feel welcome, says Mass with great reverence and gives meaningful homilies"

The Rev. Carol Howard Merritt says that the image of a God who suffers with us can play a role in helping people recover.

Trolls are preying on weakness as much as—or more than—hunting for supposed transgressions against orthodoxy.

Back in 1991, close to nine in 10 Catholics in the United States were white. Today, that number is down to 55 percent—and that percentage will continue to drop.