Hard to believe, after this issue has been public for so long, that there are still this many unthinkable sins and depravities to uncover in the ranks of the Catholic Church.

Nearly 200 Baltimore Catholic clergy members and administrators were exposed Wednesday as sexual predators as part of a sweeping four-year investigation by the Maryland attorney general.

The attorney general's report details unspeakable acts by officials in the archdiocese, many of them by trusted priests. It's difficult, infuriating reading.

The "incontrovertible history uncovered by this investigation," the AG's office said, "is one of pervasive and persistent abuse by priests and other Archdiocese personnel."

The abusers in the report functioned in much the same way that sexual criminals always do, particularly concerning children:

Abusers often singled out children who were especially isolated or vulnerable because of shyness, lack of confidence, or problems at home, and they presented themselves as protectors and friends of the children and their families. ... They told their victims the abuse was "God's will" and that no one would doubt the word of a priest

In what has become a familiar story, meanwhile, church leaders regularly covered up the abuse and excused the perpetrators of it while paying little to no heed of the victims who came forward.

Following the release of the investigation's findings, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori said in a statement: "The report details a reprehensible time in the history of this Archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored or forgotten."