Vatican orders secret trials of sex priests

Irish Independent ^ | January 9, 2002 | Richard Owen and Nicola Anderson

[billorites]

"The guidelines contain no formal provision for referring suspects to the police, suggesting that the Church might prefer to deal with the problem through secret internal procedures. "

Secret internal procedures is what got these priests in trouble.

[KirklandJunction]

Church internal justice vs. civil courts?
Golly, might be a good idea to rent "Becket" or "Man For All Seasons" again. Beats studying! Uh, not in law school, nope.

kj would say hi! but I'm sure he's already up, out and long gone for the day.

(s)
One of the kids!

[chatham]

Unless and until the Heirarchy of the Catholic church respond to Pedophilia with the severity such a Heinous crime demands, they continue protect clerical criminals and destroy the credibility of the church...

Opus Dei is a secret organization within the church and their most prominent member is The FBI Spy Hannsen, so much for secret organizations.

The heirarchy should turn the perpetrators over to the police where they belong.

If they don't they should be charged as accomplices.

[Grut]

Gee, secret trials. Dubya for Pope!

[Alberta's Child]

It's worth noting that these rules apply only to cases as they are reported to church officials. Any Catholic whose child reports sexual abuse at the hands of a priest can pursue the case through civil authorities.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that Catholics should first report any such abuse to civil authorities, and should probably forget about dealing with the church authorities. Church authorities have proven themselves to be utterly incompetent when it comes to dealing with this issue, and the truth is that the church was never concerned about priests who molested children until they began losing millions of dollars in civil lawsuits.

[Okies love Dubya 2]

Ping

[Incorrigible]

Here's another thread that was running last night.

Vatican Issues New Rules on Pedophile Priests

I was an alter boy and attended an all-boys Catholic school but never was approached (nor anyone else I know of) by a priest in an inappropriate way.

If I was, I would prefer they be dealt with in the legal system rather than an ecclesiastical court.  I don't know what penalties can be issued by this court other than damnation in Hell but society need to be protected from the pedophile until that time comes.

[Incorrigible]

Opus Dei is hardly a secret.  Members sort of "opt-out" of non-orthodox Catholic Parishes. I've heard them referred to as "Super Catholics".  As an organization, comprised mostly of lay people, it does strike fear in the hearts of overtly liberal lay and religious.

[Wolfie]

Harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice...so what's the problem?

[redhead]

I don't have any DETAILS at hand, but I suspect that the reason this has come down is that there are still many corrupt bishops and cardinals in high positions in the Vatican. The Pope would probably be one of the last to know most of this, since these functionaries have more than a little autonomy. However, during the fifties and sixties, especially, an effort was made to install "friendly" officials and sympathetic bureaucrats as heads of particular areas of Vatican government in order to implement certain changes in procedure in the Vatican. Alice Von Hildebrand has written a very interesting article on this topic in one of the Catholic magazines now in print. (Her husband was a famous theologian, and she is an expert and theologian/philosopher in her own right). I would love to hear HER take on all of this.

[Revelation 911]

But ya know, a Cath apologist I just finished discussing this with would tell you an undiscovered priest is still qualified to serve communion and perform "valid" Mass behind the altar.

Rubbish, such demons are vile and not worthy to touch the Blood & the Body as they remain unrepentant for thier ongoing sin. They walk not with Christ but satan.

The appearance then is that the ritual is served rather than Jesus

heres his quote

The disposition of the priest has no bearing on the validity of the sacraments celebrated by the priest. Jesus acts through the priest, whether the priest is in a state of grace or not.

[SoothingDave]

Opus Dei is a secret organization within the church and their most prominent member is The FBI Spy Hannsen, so much for secret organizations.

And Bill Clinton is a prominent American. So much for America.

See the problem with tarring an entire group because of the sins of one member?

By the way, the spy is just the member of Opus Dei that you know about. I doubt he is anywhere near the most prominent member.

As for the article here, this actually seems to be a strengthening of the rules. Rome is demanding that it be informed of any such activity, so that a local Bishop can't do these things without someone else knowing. This is a move in the right direction.

SD

[SoothingDave]

But ya know, a Cath apologist I just finished discussing this with would tell you an undiscovered priest is still qualified to serve communion and perform "valid" Mass behind the altar.

Rubbish, such demons are vile and not worthy to touch the Blood & the Body as they remain unrepentant for thier ongoing sin. They walk not with Christ but satan.

I'm sorry you don't understand the concept. Indeed, a priest who just yelled at a staff member unjustly, or had a prideful thought, or told a small lie is not worthy to touch the Body and Blood.

So, using your test, we need to be absolutely sure that the priest has no sin before we can be sure if the sacrament is valid. Or we can realize, correctly, that the state of the man performing the Mass does not affect its efficaciousness.

SD

[Steve0113]

Harboring a criminal and obstruction of justice...

Not at all. The Church wants to immediately investigate any suspicion of pedophilia, to determine whether the charge has merit. If it does, then the perpetrator can be dismissed and turned over to the police.

The secrecy of the investigation ensures that no one's reputation is destroyed by false charges.

[Wolfie]

Investigation of possible crimes are what the police are for.