So, just because YOU think these guys are innocent, that its OK for them to molest boys? Come on. You cannot be that naive.
Its a chicken and egg thing. You are mad because people came forward AFTER these cases were exposed to try to get money. Am I right?
If that is your position, you are missing my point. My point is that the Church covered up, for lack of a better term, these cases beyond the point where they could have been held for criminal trial. The ONLY recourse that was available was civil litigation—which lead to the fraud you address.
Should innocent men be hurt by false accusations? Of course not.
I believe that the Church should come out and say the following:
1. We will report any improper allegations to the local civil authorities and we will assist 100% in any investigation for ongoing criminal offenses.
2. It is reasonable to believe that any improper actions that have taken place in the past have been reported and litigated. Therefore, we will defend to the extent of our ability and allegations that are past the statute of limitations. We will not settle. We will expel anyone we find to have participated in or knowingly covered up knowledge of a crime. When there is evidence of a fraudulent claim, we will risk bankruptcy to fight the claim. We will not settle.
3. We are committed to protecting our parishioners and our priests alike. Our church is taking steps to make sure these types of crimes never happen again. But, we are also committed to moving forward and rebuilding our place in the community.
I believe they are either unwilling or unable to do this. And I am not sure why.
That is my final comment on the subject. I wish you a very Happy and Healthy New Year. God Bless us all. Methinks we are going to need it going forward.
“So, just because YOU think these guys are innocent, that its OK for them to molest boys?”
There is no rational way to get from what I said to the proposition you advance.
We *know* that many of the accused were innocent. They were not molesting young men in the first place, so protecting their rights in no way justifies any crime.
“Its a chicken and egg thing. You are mad because people came forward AFTER these cases were exposed to try to get money. Am I right?”
I am not writing in anger, but in fully justified indignation at false accusations, and at the refusal of some to admit that such accusations were false.
“My point is that the Church covered up, for lack of a better term, these cases beyond the point where they could have been held for criminal trial.”
Firstly, I will stipulate that young men were molested by *some* priests, and that *some* bishops wrongly protected *some* of them from prosecution. However, in many of these cases, the victims and their parents were complicit in the cover-up, as they agreed to a monetary settlement in lieu of prosecution. In others, the victims remained silent. In still others, the victims were not believed by their own parents.
While every one of these young men was the victim of a terrible, terrible crime and offense against their immortal souls, the responsibility for hushing these things up cannot be laid solely at the door of the Church.
I assure you that your contempt for and righteous anger at the *guilty* does not exceed my own. However, we have a moral duty not to let those feelings splash over onto the innocent.
Further, while some of the Bishops who put these homosexuals back into parishes or otherwise into contact with young men were beyond a doubt homosexuals themselves and completely guilty of knowingly protecting predatory sodomite priests, the number of such cases is nowhere nearly as great as you seem to think.
Remember Heinlein’s razor—Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. Some of these bishops were actually trying to do the best thing for everyone. They reasoned (approximately) thusly: It can be (even more) devastating for a young man’s anal rape to become public knowledge; thus a private settlement is protecting a minor. Psychiatrists say that this priest can be treated and returned to active duty, and the Catholic Church is about nothing if not redemption. It would be better for all concerned to protect the minor’s privacy, reach an understanding acceptable to the victim and his parents, and get counseling for both the victim and perpetrator.
It is easy to forget at this point in time that it used to be much more common to think it better to cover up a rape than to drag it through the courts, which some women described as being raped a second time. Things have changed, and while hardly anyone will today admit to that opinion, it is commonly held that rape remains an under-reported crime.
George Herbert wrote, “Go not for every grief to the physician, nor for every quarrel to the lawyer, nor for every thirst to the pot.”
“The ONLY recourse that was available was civil litigation—which lead to the fraud you address.”
You don’t see the hand of Satan in that? Letting all this build up like magma rising beneath a volcano, to be released all at once at the most inopportune time? Can you deny that this has greatly damaged the image of the Church in many people’s eyes? And is still doing damage, even though the great majority of these crimes were committed decades ago, and the number has since plunged? This is especially true in light of the comparisons with other organizations not in the white-hot spotlight. (See the links in a post above.)
“I believe that the Church should come out and say the following…I believe they are either unwilling or unable to do this.”
Funny, I thought that was the Church’s position. Are you sure you didn’t just miss it?
“That is my final comment on the subject.”
I hope it’s not your final thought on the subject.
“I wish you a very Happy and Healthy New Year. God Bless us all. Methinks we are going to need it going forward.”
And the same to you. May God look not upon our sins, but upon our faith.