UPDATED: QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You have a dogged district attorney's office that has treated this issue as one involving crime, and therefore has been ... aggressive in trying to unearth the scope of the orchestration of the crime," Ms. Hamilton said. "That is different from any other city. No other city has had law enforcement this dedicated to the issue." New victims are identifying themselves and disclosing new names of perpetrators, according to Hamilton, who said, "We are at the beginning of what I believe will truly be a flood of allegations." - Marci Hamilton, a professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Ms. Hamilton represents two plaintiffs in cases against the Philadelphia archdiocese.
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With the disaster in Japan, it's easy to be distracted from lesser problems in the world. But, since it has damaged tens of thousands of lives worldwide, focus should not be allowed to wane on the Roman Catholic Church's continued criminal conspiracy to protect and even enable sexual predator priest. Here in the USA, Philadelphia is the current epicenter, but the problem continues around the world as the Catholic Church in Germany and elsewhere continues to be forced to be accountable for its disgusting misdeeds. An editorial piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the recent suspension of 21 abusive priests from ministry and begs the question as to why this wasn't done long before now. The answer, the only reason the Church belatedly acted was because it had no choice. Otherwise, more children and youths would have remained at risk of molestation. Moral bankruptcy doesn't get much worse in my view. Here are some column highlights:
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This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali suspended 21 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese who have been accused of sexual abuse or other improper behavior involving children. The accusations against these priests had been known to the archdiocese under Rigali and his predecessor, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, for years and in some cases decades.
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Since the first grand jury report on sexual abuse in the archdiocese, in 2005, Rigali has repeatedly assured his flock that there were no priests in active service "known" to have abused children. He has offered "heartfelt" apologies to victims. And he has touted various programs and strategies to deal with the problem. But all the while, he left 21 priests in active service whom he now considers so dangerous to children as to warrant their immediate suspension.
*
So why were the priests suspended - and why now? First, let's look at why not. Rigali did not suspend these priests in the interests of doing the right thing, protecting children, stemming a decline in church attendance and donations, or reacting to credible accusations. Any of those motives would have prompted the suspensions years ago.
*
The truth is that the suspensions occurred because of last month's grand jury report, which exposed the fact that the priests were in active service and posing a danger to children. No second grand jury report, no suspensions.
*
A second, related reason for the suspensions was the recent arrest of Msgr. William Lynn. This marked the first time that a Catholic Church supervisor in the United States was arrested on charges of sheltering priest abusers by moving them to other, unsuspecting parishes and schools, thereby giving them access to new victims.
*
The bishops running Pennsylvania's other dioceses already know who the predators are, just as church officials in Philadelphia have known for years. But until legislators pass laws and prosecutors conduct investigations in other parts of the state, these predators will remain hidden and protected.
*
Those who care about the safety of children will demand that the legislature take action. If we rely instead on the promises of a cardinal, God help us and our children.
*
Yet again I ask: why does anyone continue to attend and financially support such a wicked and corrupt religious institution? Faith is inherent in oneself and you can carry it with you to less corrupt and vile denominations as I did by leaving the Catholic Church and joining the ELCA, which, while not perfect, certainly is a far cry better than what we continue to see to be the norm among the Catholic Church hierarchy.
*
With the disaster in Japan, it's easy to be distracted from lesser problems in the world. But, since it has damaged tens of thousands of lives worldwide, focus should not be allowed to wane on the Roman Catholic Church's continued criminal conspiracy to protect and even enable sexual predator priest. Here in the USA, Philadelphia is the current epicenter, but the problem continues around the world as the Catholic Church in Germany and elsewhere continues to be forced to be accountable for its disgusting misdeeds. An editorial piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the recent suspension of 21 abusive priests from ministry and begs the question as to why this wasn't done long before now. The answer, the only reason the Church belatedly acted was because it had no choice. Otherwise, more children and youths would have remained at risk of molestation. Moral bankruptcy doesn't get much worse in my view. Here are some column highlights:*
This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali suspended 21 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese who have been accused of sexual abuse or other improper behavior involving children. The accusations against these priests had been known to the archdiocese under Rigali and his predecessor, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, for years and in some cases decades.
*
Since the first grand jury report on sexual abuse in the archdiocese, in 2005, Rigali has repeatedly assured his flock that there were no priests in active service "known" to have abused children. He has offered "heartfelt" apologies to victims. And he has touted various programs and strategies to deal with the problem. But all the while, he left 21 priests in active service whom he now considers so dangerous to children as to warrant their immediate suspension.
*
So why were the priests suspended - and why now? First, let's look at why not. Rigali did not suspend these priests in the interests of doing the right thing, protecting children, stemming a decline in church attendance and donations, or reacting to credible accusations. Any of those motives would have prompted the suspensions years ago.
*
The truth is that the suspensions occurred because of last month's grand jury report, which exposed the fact that the priests were in active service and posing a danger to children. No second grand jury report, no suspensions.
*
A second, related reason for the suspensions was the recent arrest of Msgr. William Lynn. This marked the first time that a Catholic Church supervisor in the United States was arrested on charges of sheltering priest abusers by moving them to other, unsuspecting parishes and schools, thereby giving them access to new victims.
*
The bishops running Pennsylvania's other dioceses already know who the predators are, just as church officials in Philadelphia have known for years. But until legislators pass laws and prosecutors conduct investigations in other parts of the state, these predators will remain hidden and protected.
*
Those who care about the safety of children will demand that the legislature take action. If we rely instead on the promises of a cardinal, God help us and our children.
*
Yet again I ask: why does anyone continue to attend and financially support such a wicked and corrupt religious institution? Faith is inherent in oneself and you can carry it with you to less corrupt and vile denominations as I did by leaving the Catholic Church and joining the ELCA, which, while not perfect, certainly is a far cry better than what we continue to see to be the norm among the Catholic Church hierarchy.
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