Secrets And Lies
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LISA MILLAR, Reporter: No one knows for sure how many children of priests there are, but Vincent has made his own estimates.
VINCENT DOYLE: We know of 10,000. I could stand before Christ and say ‘I know of 10,000 children of priests’. That’s conservative. That’s very conservative.
Secrets and Lies
LISA MILLAR, Reporter: For years it’s been an open secret.
VINCENT DOYLE: As long as you have priests you will have children of Catholic priests.
LISA MILLAR, Reporter: Catholic priests who’ve broken their vow of celibacy to become fathers.
MICHAEL: I knew he was a priest when I was a child, but I couldn’t tell them that I knew because it was a big secret.
LISA MILLAR, Reporter: We talk to the children who’ve been pressured to stay quiet and suffered in silence.
SARAH THOMAS: This is just the tip of the iceberg, what we know at the moment. I think priests' children as a group want to be acknowledged. They want to be on the map. They exist. They're not collateral damage.
LISA MILLAR, Reporter: Some are speaking out for the very first time
LINDA LAWLESS: And I can just remember rocking, thinking I can’t tell anyone, I can’t tell anyone. I have to keep the secret.
LISA MILLAR, Reporter: When Catholics seek answers, they look to the Vatican – the seat of power and decision-making for …