"HE didn't commit the crimes, he just didn't do all he could to send the men who DID do them to jail, and he admitted that he was wrong in that."
THAT sounds like accessory after the fact to me, but then - I'm no attorney.
As far as Law being compassionate, it seems to me his "comapssion" didn't extend to the victims of the predators he was playing musical chairs with. On the other hand, maybe he didn't really know what his subordinate bushops were doing. In that case, he was grossly negligent, wouldn't you say? Were any of them - the Bishops - successfully prosecuted?
I don't know all the particular details first hand of Law's situation. I only know what I read on the Internet and in the papers.
It appears the Catholic Church has had a serious problem with paedophile priests.
I KNOW the overwhelming majority of priests are NOT paedophiles, but dedicated, decent men doing a difficult and thankless job in a society which has become increasingly secular and atheistic.
Both paedophile priests and those who protect them, in addition to being guilty of crimes against society in general, have done an injustice to the Church they claim to represent and to their fellow clegymen who are not so sullied.
I don't believe they were because of the statute of limitations. But it wasn't for lack of trying.
The press has even stopped using that term because even the press,in it's eagerness to destroy Christianity knew that the data did not support their original claim. They knew it was false to begin with but they used it because they knew it would incite the public.
The data show that less than 1% of the abusive priests were pedophiles. The real problem is that the abusers were homosexual priests and homosexuality is a precious and protected condition in this country and in many Euroopean nations. They downplayed this aspect of the scandal due to the peculiar proclivities of many persons in the major media,which they share with the predator priests.
No,the problem is that almost to a priest,the abusers were just run of the mill homosexuals doing what most of them do,troll for youth and beauty. And when they found a young man and seduced him they were able to accomplish two objectives. Satisfy their longings and recruit more young men to the ranks.
You can criticize Cardinal Law all you want,and granted he was too easy on them. But think about this country right now,today;all of the professional,upstanding,intelligent men and women who absolutely know how deadly and dangerous and pervasive homosexuality is and yet the country is being steamrolled by the movement. Think about how overwhelmed Cardinal Law must have been and say a prayer for him,and then say a prayer for America and lets figure out how to proceed to deal with the problem because the outcome is up to us,they are not going to let up.