*Many of the accused are long dead (unable to defend themselves from charges).
*The commission was largely unsuccessful in getting records from the Irish Education Department (no documentary evidence).
*Church/Government agencies were called "uncooperative" if they asked for proof of the allegations.
*there’s a significant monetary motive for presenting unprovable charges ($1.5 billion in government-paid compensation).
Apply those factors to a different hypothetical situation.
Say civilians in Italy, Germany, Korea, Japan, etc. testified that U.S. soldiers abused them 40 - 60 years ago.
Say the accused were long dead; written records were lacking; US agencies which insisted on proof were deemed "uncooperative"; and there were highly publicized funds available to accusers with or without evidence.
Would we, as Americans, assume it was all true, and join in a worldwide chorus condemning U.S. servicemen as depraved monsters?
No?
Interesting.
Some of this is proven: there have been deeply disturbing, damning, criminal admissions. But with the fair judgment that individuals cannot be subjected to "naming and shaming" and penalty without evidence, perhaps all we can demand is God's terrible judgment on those responsible in the past, and far better safeguards in the future.
I hope nobody takes this as a justification for abuse and cover-up --- to any degree whatsoever. If somebody abused my child, I would demand their guts in a Hefty bag.
But by the same token, decent standards of Due Process protect both individuals and institutions from being deprived of "life, liberty, or property" --- or even reputation ---without a fair opportunity to confront the accuser, to demand actual proof, and to present evidence in one's defense. This protects innocent people from being vilified or punished.
The time lapse between the alleged offenses and the investigation renders the ordinary mechanisms of justice either unenforceable or limited in scope.
That's the bitter truth. Let the innocent be free of the smear of collective guilt. Let those for whom incriminating evidence exists, be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And let those whose guilt is unprovable fear the judgment to come.
Did you even bother to read the article?
Wednesday's five-volume report on the probe ? which was resisted by Catholic religious orders ? concluded that church officials shielded their orders' pedophiles from arrest amid a culture of self-serving secrecy..
Five volumes of evidence.
"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee." -- Psalm 55:22-23"For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." -- Isaiah 26:21