Of the 2 great evil, corrupt, greedy, misogynistic, authoritarian, dehumanizing organizations that have spread their tentacles from Italy over the rest of civilization, why does only the less pernicious one, the Mafia, have the bad reputation?
The First Amendment to the Constitution says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . .”
Those words generally are interpreted as guaranteeing citizens the right to worship or not, as they please, and ensuring that the government will not actively promote one religion at the expense of others. However, that DOES NOT mean the leaders of any religious organization can, with impunity, ignore the criminal statues duly enacted to protect all citizens from harm.
No religious leaders, be they Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Sikh, Bhuddist, or of any other religious faith, are above the law, and any who violate duly enacted laws should be prosecuted by civil authorities for their alleged crimes.
Right now, the Catholic Church has a massive problem with its clergy having sexually abused thousands of minor children and at least some nuns. I think a reasonable argument can be made that the extent of this atrocity has been significantly magnified because the Church not only did not notify civil authorities of the crimes committed, but apparently also actively covered them up. Whether or not the current meeting at the Vatican will lead to an alteration of this practice is an open question.
The refusal to turn pedophile priests over to civil authorities at the time the Church becomes aware of the crime is exacerbated by the fact that many states have statutes of limitations which effectively become “avoid civil prosecution” cards because the vast majority of victims are so traumatized they cannot speak openly about what happened for many years.
I grant that the passage of many years (perhaps decades) between the crime and the time the victim is able to speak openly about the crime creates serious difficulties in determining exactly what happened – people’s memories betray them, individuals involved in some fashion (as witnesses, for instance) may have died, and there may be significant problems ascertaining the facts of an individual case.
However, a statute of limitations should never be a bar to justice because it creates a safe haven for criminals. The fact that there is a steady drip . . . drip . . . drip of “credibly accused” priests from various dioceses around the country is proof that in the absence of a statute of limitations and/or death of the perpetrator these criminals can and should be prosecuted (and punished if found guilty) by appropriate civil authorities.
Transfer or demotion of sexual predators is totally insufficient and probably largely ineffective. Defrocking the offender is perhaps a little better, but until the Catholic Church grows enough spine to turn over to civil authorities each and every priest (or other leader within the Church’s hierarchy) accused of sexual predation (whether committed against minors, nuns, or any other individuals) I fear the litany of sexual predation within the Catholic Church will continue.
sufamelico over 4 years ago
“The devil is in the de-tails” it’s been proven true time and again
Richard S Russell Premium Member over 4 years ago
Of the 2 great evil, corrupt, greedy, misogynistic, authoritarian, dehumanizing organizations that have spread their tentacles from Italy over the rest of civilization, why does only the less pernicious one, the Mafia, have the bad reputation?
FaustoCoppi over 4 years ago
The First Amendment to the Constitution says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . .”
Those words generally are interpreted as guaranteeing citizens the right to worship or not, as they please, and ensuring that the government will not actively promote one religion at the expense of others. However, that DOES NOT mean the leaders of any religious organization can, with impunity, ignore the criminal statues duly enacted to protect all citizens from harm.
No religious leaders, be they Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Sikh, Bhuddist, or of any other religious faith, are above the law, and any who violate duly enacted laws should be prosecuted by civil authorities for their alleged crimes.
Right now, the Catholic Church has a massive problem with its clergy having sexually abused thousands of minor children and at least some nuns. I think a reasonable argument can be made that the extent of this atrocity has been significantly magnified because the Church not only did not notify civil authorities of the crimes committed, but apparently also actively covered them up. Whether or not the current meeting at the Vatican will lead to an alteration of this practice is an open question.
cont’d
FaustoCoppi over 4 years ago
The refusal to turn pedophile priests over to civil authorities at the time the Church becomes aware of the crime is exacerbated by the fact that many states have statutes of limitations which effectively become “avoid civil prosecution” cards because the vast majority of victims are so traumatized they cannot speak openly about what happened for many years.
I grant that the passage of many years (perhaps decades) between the crime and the time the victim is able to speak openly about the crime creates serious difficulties in determining exactly what happened – people’s memories betray them, individuals involved in some fashion (as witnesses, for instance) may have died, and there may be significant problems ascertaining the facts of an individual case.
However, a statute of limitations should never be a bar to justice because it creates a safe haven for criminals. The fact that there is a steady drip . . . drip . . . drip of “credibly accused” priests from various dioceses around the country is proof that in the absence of a statute of limitations and/or death of the perpetrator these criminals can and should be prosecuted (and punished if found guilty) by appropriate civil authorities.
Transfer or demotion of sexual predators is totally insufficient and probably largely ineffective. Defrocking the offender is perhaps a little better, but until the Catholic Church grows enough spine to turn over to civil authorities each and every priest (or other leader within the Church’s hierarchy) accused of sexual predation (whether committed against minors, nuns, or any other individuals) I fear the litany of sexual predation within the Catholic Church will continue.