Of late the Roman Catholic bishops have continued an aggressive campaign against the civil rights of LGBT citizens and manufactured a "religious freedom" controversy over contraception coverage. Could the real motivation - besides the usual quest for power and control that have been hallmarks of the Church hierarchy for centuries - been to create enough "noise" in the news media that stories like the one coming out of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee are lost to most of the public? The bishops and Rome have tried to down play the magnitude of the sex abuse crimes against children and youths and rarely have willingly given up information from their files to police and prosecutors in the hope of salvaging some vestige of the Church's reputation. Personally, I have long suspected that the true figures stashed away in secret files in bishoprics and the Vatican are staggeringly higher than those acknowledged. Bankruptcy court filings in Milwaukee now seem to confirm that the Church fathers have been lying most likely on a worldwide basis.
In criminal and civil court proceedings, the Church has always had a natural motivation to down play its sins. Bankruptcy proceedings are a far different matter. If one hopes to limit or even avoid claims in bankruptcy, they must be listed in full and the claimants be afforded an opportunity to file what's called a proof of claim. If the the Milwaukee Archdiocese hoped to limit and discharge claims of victims of sexual abuse, it was necessary that it actually tell the truth an list the potential claims. It did, and the numbers are staggering - especially if extrapolated across other dioceses in America and around the world (there are 630 archdioceses and 2,167 dioceses world wide). Instead of tens of thousands of victims, we are talking about not hundreds of thousands of victims, if not well into the millions. Indeed, the Church's cover up effort would rate as one of the largest criminal conspiracies.
One can only conclude that the arrogance, narcissism and criminality of the bishops, cardinals - and yes the Popes - are almost without precedent outside of dictators and despots who engaged in crimes on a massive basis look modest. The other conclusion is that the on-going conference at the Vatican to supposedly address sex abuse is a ruse. It's probably no more legitimate than one of Stalin's show trials. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has details. Here are highlights:
Adding to this moral cesspool is the fact that Timothy Dolan - now Archbishop of New York and a major opponent of gay rights and proponent of the myth that Catholic religious freedom is under attack by gays and the Obama administration - is suspected of having hidden $130 million of the Milwaukee Archdiocese's assets when he was posted there so as to avoid paying victims of sexual abuse. Oh, and then there's Cardinal Egan's retraction of his apology for the sex abuse scandal. All of this leaves two questions: (1) why does anyone continue to listen to the Catholic Church hierarchy on any issue and (2) why aren't Egan, Dolan and many others - including Benedict XVI - under criminal prosecution? The Mafia, in my opinion, is highly ethical compared to these foul, despicable men.
In criminal and civil court proceedings, the Church has always had a natural motivation to down play its sins. Bankruptcy proceedings are a far different matter. If one hopes to limit or even avoid claims in bankruptcy, they must be listed in full and the claimants be afforded an opportunity to file what's called a proof of claim. If the the Milwaukee Archdiocese hoped to limit and discharge claims of victims of sexual abuse, it was necessary that it actually tell the truth an list the potential claims. It did, and the numbers are staggering - especially if extrapolated across other dioceses in America and around the world (there are 630 archdioceses and 2,167 dioceses world wide). Instead of tens of thousands of victims, we are talking about not hundreds of thousands of victims, if not well into the millions. Indeed, the Church's cover up effort would rate as one of the largest criminal conspiracies.
One can only conclude that the arrogance, narcissism and criminality of the bishops, cardinals - and yes the Popes - are almost without precedent outside of dictators and despots who engaged in crimes on a massive basis look modest. The other conclusion is that the on-going conference at the Vatican to supposedly address sex abuse is a ruse. It's probably no more legitimate than one of Stalin's show trials. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has details. Here are highlights:
Sealed documents filed in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy identify at least 8,000 instances of child sexual abuse and 100 alleged offenders - 75 of them priests - who have not previously been named by the archdiocese, a victims' attorney said Thursday.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Julie Wolf said she did not have enough information to respond to the assertion, made by attorney Jeffrey Anderson during a pivotal hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley. Anderson represents about 350 of the 570 victim-survivors who have filed claims in the case.
But Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests speculated that some are likely members of religious orders, such as Capuchins or Franciscans. . . . . "This is a public safety crisis, a child safety crisis that needs to be investigated," Isely said at a news conference on the federal courthouse steps, surrounded by fellow survivors and reporters. "We need to know who they are and where they are. How can there be 8,000 crimes committed by over 100 offenders and there be no accountability?" he said.
[Judge] Kelley let stand, at least for now, two survivors' claims that the church had sought to bar, arguing they were beyond the statute of limitations. In the split decision, Kelley also granted the church's motion for summary judgment, effectively dismissing a third claim in which a victim had signed a prior settlement agreement with the church.
Allowing the two claims to stand doesn't guarantee they will be paid in the bankruptcy, only that the legal debate over when the statute of limitations begins ticking must be decided at trial.
The archdiocese had sought the dismissal of three claims involving two priests and a parish choir director who were accused of molesting boys in the 1970s and '80s. Church lawyers argued that the cases were beyond the statute of limitations and involved a victim who signed a previous settlement agreement and a perpetrator - the choir director - who was not a direct employee.
Adding to this moral cesspool is the fact that Timothy Dolan - now Archbishop of New York and a major opponent of gay rights and proponent of the myth that Catholic religious freedom is under attack by gays and the Obama administration - is suspected of having hidden $130 million of the Milwaukee Archdiocese's assets when he was posted there so as to avoid paying victims of sexual abuse. Oh, and then there's Cardinal Egan's retraction of his apology for the sex abuse scandal. All of this leaves two questions: (1) why does anyone continue to listen to the Catholic Church hierarchy on any issue and (2) why aren't Egan, Dolan and many others - including Benedict XVI - under criminal prosecution? The Mafia, in my opinion, is highly ethical compared to these foul, despicable men.
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