Clergy sex abuse: How involved should the State be?

It's not just that Catholic officials have no credibility investigating themselves. It's that history, psychology and common sense tell us NO institution can police itself, especially not (as SNAP founder Barbara Blaine says) "an ancient, rigid, secretive, all-male monarchy like the Catholic hierarchy with its deeply-rooted and long-standing practice of concealing clergy sex crimes."

It's no coincidence that the world's biggest abuse and cover up happens in a monarchy in which no official is held accountable by anyone, not even by the Pope.

- David Clohessy, National Director, SNAP-Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 7234 Arsenal Street, St. Louis MO 63143 (314 566 9790), SNAPnetwork.org, SNAPclohessy@aol.

Any religious denomination or other non profit agency found to have a clear pattern of actively hiding child abuse should lose it's tax exempt status. Otherwise the government is in collusion with what is essentially a crime syndicate.

Unless and until the Church decides that it is won't continue circling the wagons and defending the indefensible, it will have to be stepped on. Bishops who have protected rapists from the law must be brought to trial to answer for their crimes. Only when they lose their immunity from prosecution and a few of them do time will there be any hope of lessening the crisis.

Weigel is blowing smoke or more accurately a smoke screen.

NO Joe it won't work this time. The clergy and the heirarchy will have to obey the law just like everyone else.

The clergy will have to stop treating catholic children as sex slaves.

Hitherto the church has been shielded by catholic police and DAs in many jurisdictions and that day is over too.

There is no priest exemption to the rape laws.

People forget that the Church has an official special role in many European countries. It's normal for us to think that the Church should be held accountable and treated just like everyone else - but over there, that is a bit of a radical thought.
A lot of the Church's stance is based upon protecting its own privliges - this sounds exactly like that - it's not "we did wrong and deserve to be punished", it's "we have to protect ourselves from radical secularists". It's disgusting.

NO RELIGION IS ABOVE THE NATION ( STATE ) OTHER THAN THE VATICAN STATE. IN HOLY IRELAND, LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE NATION ( STATE ) LOOKS THE OTHER WAY FOR A RELIGION CAN DO NO WRONG.

Upon being sworn into office on December 4, 2000, LA District Attorney Steve Cooley told his staff, "Show no fear in pursuing the criminal element, also be fearless in the pursuit of justice."

http://da.co.la.ca.us/

His website goes on to say:

"Sexual crimes and child sexual abuse are among the most devastating of crimes. Through their criminal acts, sex crime and child sexual abuse offenders can inflict severe physical, emotional, and psychological trauma on their victims. The effects can be long-lasting; the healing process can be an arduous one.

The District Attorney’s Office understands this and vigorously seeks justice for victims of sexual assault and child sexual abuse"

All with a big asterisk giving Roger Mahony and the Catholic church there special dispensation by exempting them from investigation and prosecution otsg and being an accessory after the fact in hiding his pervert and passing them on to other parishes where they molest again.

The US needs some non-Catholic DA's who are not afraid of the local

correction:

All with a big asterisk giving Roger Mahony and the Catholic church there special dispensation by exempting them from investigation and prosecution obstruction of justice, racketeering and being an accessory after the fact in hiding his pervert and passing them on to other parishes where they molest again.

The US needs some non-Catholic DA's who are not afraid of the local Bishop in enforcing the law.

Posted by: co

There are laws regarding child abuse in the U.S. and other countries. No entity should be above the law in these cases, not the churches or any other groups.

We see in our own government that the so-called "Ethics" panel in Congress does not prosecute according to the laws, so why should we even think, much less believe, that a church would not protect its criminals. Yes, they are criminals!

If the church will not protect the public, especially children, from abuse, then the laws of a country should come into play.

The Catholic clergy abuse scandal is not about protecting the defenseless, for if it were, the public school abuse of the defenseless - known to have at least 10 times more victims - would be in full swing (which, in case you haven't noticed, it's NOT.) Instead, the Catholic clergy abuse scandal is really about destroying the Catholic Church as an institution of influence.

Michelle, who are these "many people argue" you're quoting? Is this journalism, or a flight of fancy on your part?
Just between years 2008 and 2009, in the USA, allegations of abuse dropped by 36%; in 2009 50 allegations were unsubstaniated or false; 98% of those allegations were between clergy and adults, not children; all the allegations were filed against clergy who have either died of old age by now ,or had been removed from ministry years ago. i.e. these are not new cases of abuse, but old cases now brought to the courts system.
In 2009, $55M was paid in settlements; 53% of those settlements ($29M) went to lawyers. Lawyers are hustling the Church and not the organization with the larger track record of sex abuse: the public school systems. But, why don't the lawyers go after them? Because you can't sue the public school system.
Good work Michelle

"the Catholic clergy abuse scandal is really about destroying the Catholic Church as an institution of influence."

Why should any organization that abuses its own members and protects the abusers (and hides its assests from victims who file lawsuits) HAVE influence?

Let's not overlook the fact that both the Irish and German governments have provided more than generous tax support for the Catholic Church. For starters the two governments should withdraw their financial support and let the church sink or swim with only voluntary support.

Anyone wanting a snapshot of the abuse and one public offiicals investigation, should look at Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham's report which is available at http://philadelphiadistrictattorney.com/pages/1/index.htm

She identified many priests and the parishes that they were assigned to.

In an era in which Congress investigated steroids in baseball and refused to touch pedophiles hiding behind the church walls, Lynn Abraham deserves a Profiles in Courage Award.

Bottom Line:
Separation of Church and State means Institutional separation. Individuals who are reasonably suspected of criminal acts should be investigated by State law officers AND tried in CIVIL Courts if the evidence so indicates the need.

The Church should conduct its own investigation - but in addition too -- NOT INSTEAD of a State, secular investigation!

"Why should any organization that abuses its own members and protects the abusers (and hides its assests from victims who file lawsuits) HAVE influence?
Posted by: writinron"

Because the existence of reason and law supersedes its individual actors. The individual actors work to define and reveal reason and law, yes, but do not undermine its existence.
Nonetheless it does fester our selfish pursuits to deny reason, law and the universality of all things so that we may feel appropriate to destroy self and others.
That was the point of Weigel's commentary and the Pope's letter. By distancing itself from the universal Church, Irish bishops and priests were able to pursue their own selfish pursuits against conscious.
We need to draw closer to reason and law, draw strength within universal order, faithfully submitting our selfish desires to truth, not towards nihilism and its inevitable means and ends in depravity.

writinron,
Here's some additional commentaries that address the question of universal reason v. nihilism.
http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=600
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/03/23/do-tummy-aches-disprove-god/

The Catholic church may be the most corrupt place on earth--those criminals must go to prison if the pope is guilty send him with the rest of these sex perverts

Its clear that the Catholic church can not be depended on to even investigate on their own. The only way to handle this now is for the govt to do a full investigation and prosecution of everyone involved.

"playing to the mob" Ho w dare you people of the so called cloth are getting away with murder( rape and abuse ) and the very pope seems to be involved,yet we seem to give these low life's a pass, it is past time to strip the church of protections that no other persons are allowed to get away with.