[TSgt]

In reality, the accused priest was still a defendant in a church trial.

In reality, the accused priest should have been a defendant in a criminal trial, but that would have been "icky" for the church's image.

[AnAmericanMother]

No, you're wrong.

The district attorney declined to prosecute. Unless you think that the Church has the DA in its pocket (something I would seriously doubt) you can't lay that at the Church's door.

[SuziQ]

In reality, the accused priest should have been a defendant in a criminal trial, but that would have been "icky" for the church's image.

That would have been a matter for the civil courts, but it is my understanding that the justice system in Milwaukee also dropped the ball on this one.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Are you kidding? At this point EVERYONE KNOWS there should have been criminal prosecutions. But wait a minute. Let me vent.

Prior to the '80's, as a rule, when these crime were committed, police didn't arrest, victims didn't/wouldn't testify, prosecutors didn't bring charges --it was an intricate system of evasions everywhere you turned, involving not just the churches, but every "helping" profession: counselors, youth workers, psychologists, judges, school administrators, therapists, public officials.

It was very much the muddled smooth-it-over "compassionate" thinking of the times: don't "re-traumatize" the victims by forcing them to provide courtroom testimony, what they need is counseling; don't "criminalize" the abusers, they need counseling as well; don't create a public spectable that envelops the church (the scouts, the sports program, the deaf school) because it destroys people's confidence in the helping institutions, etc. ad nauseam.

Now we can well say we're angry and disgusted with it all, and we know better: but for a long time this was not the way any institution, public or private, religious or secular, operated.

Now the thinking is more along these lines (paraphrase from my retired pastor): "First call the police, then the bishop--- then the press."

There is plenty of shame, guilt, bad judgment and anger to go around. It's 20-20 hindsight. How we wish ALL the offenders were tried on criminal charges and locked away from the kids forever.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to say that.

[hobbes1]

In reality, the accused priest should have been a defendant in a criminal trial, but that would have been "icky" for the church's image.

I hate to point out abject stupidity...but...the decision to arrest and prosecute someone criminally falls far outside the domain of the church....

Then again a quick perusal of your posts seems to indicate a tenuous grasp of logic...