I'm glad to hear this, but I think we should be prepared to be outraged by litagation that will result from this. Left-wing troublemakers will attempt to define the priesthood as a form of employment, and can be expected to mount legal challenges against the Church in America. Considerable amounts of tax money are given to the Church for its work with the poor, especially in big cities. This will be the hook, as will (possibly) be tax exemptions.
I hope I'm wrong.
Actually, religious positions have always been exempt from overview by the Department of Labor, and to a lesser extent, the IRS. The "free exercise thereof" clause of the first amendment to the Constitution has been successfully applied in cases like this, as well as the "free association" phrase.
In short, the position of a priest is a specific, controlled, personal, and optional post that is wholly controlled by the religious organization sponsoring it. They would have absolutely no case.
Rest easy, it's been tried with Baptist and Protestant pastoral positions previously and has been quashed without exception.
Actually, this is one of the things that has protected the Church, because it is more advantageous to the government than to the Church. These services are provided below cost and at expense to itself, with money coming from various Catholic sources as well. When the late Cardinal O'Connor had a conflict with the City of New York over city-sponsored sex education (naturally, featuring on-site contraceptive distribution and free rides to the abortion mill) in the group foster homes, he simply threatened to close them all. There was no way the city could provide these services itself, and he had them over a barrel - they gave in.
That said, there is a faint possibility that somebody will try to sue. I believe this is currently being attempted somewhere in Canada, but I could be wrong. Maybe it was just a threat. In any case, I don't think they'd get very far here, but you never know.
You are right, but if the AmChurch loses all its wealth to save its soul, it is money well spent..a lot better than the "hush money" it has paid for years.
the whole pedophile business with the priests...minority that they are...is deeply seeded with the entry into the priesthood of gay men.....
sometimes what passes for pedophilia is simply homosexual advances......
the other thing is, if a priest is truely a pedophile...goes after very young children of either sex.....there is a covert relationship between him and gay priests because they have the "goods' on each other......there is a cover-up and a willingness to let things just pass....
Your scenario sent chills up my spine. I usually would have laughed it off, but after the CFR debacle, I don't put anything past our courts anymore.
(Of course, assuming Alito is confirmed, we might have a different court, but still my confidence is shaken.)