Posted on 11/25/2002 8:20:54 AM PST by ultima ratio
"Unholy Trinity of Litigation" and the Reform of the American Catholic Church by I.J. Toby Westerman
As liturgical abuses continue, and the truths of the Faith are ignored in many-----if not most-----dioceses in the U.S., the vast majority of bishops appear willing to let the recent rash of charges of abuse against Catholic clergy and hierarchy fade from memory.
The issue of decades-long clerical abuse against children, teenagers, young adults, and Catholic seminarians is being framed in terms of an ecclesiastical bureaucratic problem, rather than a collapse of clerical morality. The adoption of the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" by the U.S. bishops during their June 2002 meeting, and the call from several apostate groups for an end to clerical celibacy, are the first fruits of the bishops' reaction to lurid newspaper accounts of decades of ruined lives and lost faith.
At least two groups have suggested that the U.S. bishops hold a plenary council to resolve questions raised by the continuing allegations of clerical abuse. The last plenary council of U.S. bishops was the Third Plenary Council in Baltimore in 1884, which produced the Baltimore Catechism.
Observers have questioned what would result from a plenary council made up largely of bishops who are openly hostile to the teachings contained in the Baltimore Catechism. The religious teaching promulgated in many dioceses has made any reference to the Baltimore Catechism a standing joke.
While the nation watches to see if a bishop or Cardinal will suffer similar legal penalties to those handed down to miscreant priests, some are looking to the courts to bring forth the issue of clerical abuse for the American Catholic Church, and hit the offending clergy and hierarchy where it hurts the most-----in the pocketbook.
A shortage of money, it is argued, will drive out those who have obtained positions only for personal gain and easy access to victims.
Whether or not legal penalties against the Catholic Church in America will bring vitally needed reform, the lawsuits are winding their way through the courts.
A prominent Catholic lawyer has stated that the Catholic Church in the United States is vulnerable to a series of financially devastating lawsuits, based upon what he describes as an "unholy trinity of litigation," made possible by a growing multitude of charges of clerical child abuse, and an increased willingness for victims to pursue their claims against the Church in court.
The "unholy trinity of litigation"-----liability, damages, and 'deep pockets'-----awaits the Catholic Church in America as hundreds of child abuse cases make their way through the court system across the nation, according to trial lawyer Peter, B. Kelly.
Kelly, a partner in a large Wisconsin law firm, actively promotes adherence to orthodox Catholic beliefs as host of a syndicated radio program, and is completing an advanced degree in theology.
"Three hundred cases are now open," Kelly stated, referring to the number of court proceedings alleging child abuse in which Catholic clergy ,stand as defendants.
"Lawyers are opening firms specializing in these cases," Kelly stated, adding that attorneys in child abuse litigation "can't answer the phones fast enough."
Kelly speculated that the American Catholic Church's vulnerability to court action will continue for years, stating that young children "seven, eight or nine years old" who have been abused-----"will come forward later."
Should future judgments and settlements follow the precedents of earlier large damage awards and settlements against it, the American Catholic Church "will bleed green," Kelly stated.
Damage claims may become part of future awards, Kelly speculated.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see [court] actions to get into the collection plates-----[to have plaintiffs have access to] a percent of the collections," Kelly remarked. Courts may order that a certain percentage of funds be collected to pay the assessed damages, since many of the Church's assets [schools, convents, etc.] are difficult to liquidate.
Should a judge order a diocese to pay a set percent of its proceeds to settle a judgment, the result would be a "financial disaster," with many of the faithful already reluctant to provide money to cover Church losses in court over child abuse claims.
A judge may order two forms of damages: one to compensate the plaintiff for loss-----compensatory damages; the other to punish a particularly malicious defendant for causing the loss-----punitive damages.
The American Catholic Church's pattern over decades of attempting to hide clerical abuse may leave it open to a series of punitive damage judgments. Punitive damages constitute so grave a threat to the financial stability of the American Catholic Church that Kelly likened them to an "atomic bomb" ready to detonate.
Kelly linked the child abuse scandal in the American Catholic Church to the clergy's unfaithfulness to the Church's traditional moral teaching. He decried the complete lack of moral order in many seminaries, describing them as "pleasure palaces," stating that the bishops "could have shut them down, but haven't".
Along with traditional morality, the traditional understanding of theology, celebration of Mass, and the observance of vows among orders of priests and religious have also collapsed, Kelly observed.
During the bishops' June conference in Dallas, Texas, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska, proposed that the conference explore the link between unfaithfulness to traditional Church teaching and the scandal of clerical child abuse-----but his proposal received no support.
Describing many dioceses in the U.S. as "smoking ruins of Catholicism," 'Kelly openly wondered how bishops "hand-picked over decades" are apparently "actively working against the organization they are supposed to support."
Using secular corporate life as an analogy, Kelly said, "General Motors would not have [as management] that many men who want the organization to go under.
"There are people in play who want this [the destruction of the Church] to happen," Kelly asserted.
Kelly could not account for the lack of clear direction coming from Pope John Paul II, who has the ultimate authority as to how the Catholic Church is run.
Kelly urged that until reform comes-----from whatever source-----the present crisis in the American Church be seen as not a "homosexual priest issue," but as a "leadership scandal . . . a crisis of leadership for 40 years."
It has been said that nothing falls faster than a Catholic. Or, as the old priest in Graham Greene's novel, Brighton Rock, reflects, "I mean-----a Catholic is more capable of evil than anyone. I think perhaps-----because we believe in Him,-----we are more in touch with the devil than other people. But we must hope . . . hope and pray."
And as Catholics we must. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
What will definitely disappear will be neo-Catholicism, although not before it causes far more damage than it already has.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.