Pope Scraps Tribunal To Prosecute Bishops Involved in Coverups

The Vatican has sent yet another signal that no action will be taken against bishops and cardinals who aided and abetted and covered up for sexual predator priests who preyed on children and youths.  Pope Francis has now scraped the tribunal that was purportedly going to try cases of bishops and cardinals involved in cover ups or worse.  In its place, Francis has outlined a supposed new rule that would allow bishops to be removed from office - a power that Francis and his predecessors have always held but failed to use. The take away?  Expect nothing to be done and more crocodile tears. Talking Points Memo looks at the development.   Here are excerpts:

Pope Francis on Saturday scrapped his proposed tribunal to prosecute bishops who covered up for pedophile priests after it ran into opposition and instead clarified legal procedures to remove them if the Vatican finds they were negligent.

The new procedures sought to answer long-standing demands by survivors of abuse that the Vatican hold bishops accountable for botching abuse cases. Victims have long accused bishops of covering up for pedophiles, moving rapists from parish to parish rather than reporting them to police — and suffering no consequences.

But the new law was immediately criticized by survivors of abuse as essentially window dressing since there were already ways to investigate and dismiss bishops for wrongdoing — they were just rarely used against bishops who failed to protect their flocks from pedophiles.

Analysts suggested the new law was much ado about very little.

The main U.S. victims' group, SNAP, said it was "extraordinarily skeptical" that the new procedures would amount to any wave of dismissals since popes have always had the power to oust bishops but haven't wielded it.

"A 'process' is helpful only if it's used often enough to deter wrongdoing. We doubt this one will be," SNAP's David Clohessy said.

In the law, Francis acknowledged that the church's canonical code already allowed for a bishop to be removed for "grave reasons." But he said he wanted to precisely state that negligence in handling abuse cases counted as one of those reasons.

In the law, Francis said a bishop can be removed if his actions or omissions cause "grave harm" — physical, moral, spiritual or financial — to individuals or communities. The bishop himself doesn't need to be morally guilty. It's enough if he is purely lacking in the diligence required of his office.

The procedures call for the Vatican to start an investigation when "serious evidence" is provided that a bishop was negligent. The bishop can defend himself. At the end of the investigation, the Vatican can prepare a decree removing the bishop or ask him to resign.

Any decision to remove the bishop must first be approved by the pope, who will be advised by legal experts, the law says.

Twin Cities Archdiocese Files Bankruptcy to Freeze Abuse Lawsuits

In what has become a common pattern for Catholic dioceses around the country, the  St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese has filed bankruptcy to limit likely pay outs to victims of sexual abuse by priests.  In today's Catholic Church - actually, the Church throughout most of its history - money and protecting Church assets is far more important than justice and accountability, especially accountability on the part of high clergy who aided and abetted predatory priests.  The National Catholic Reporter looks at the latest bankruptcy filing.  Note the disingenuous claim that this step would be "fair" to victims of abuse.  Here are highlights:

The St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Friday morning in response to pending lawsuits related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The Associated Press first reported the development, long expected in a region gripped for more than a year by a sexual abuse scandal that has seen trust deteriorate in the local church. It is the 12th U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy. 

The filing of Chapter 11 reorganization came in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota. The archdiocese pointedly stated its current situation is “because of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors.”

The archdiocese described bankruptcy as “the fairest way” to resolve existing and future claims of sexual abuse while at the same time continuing its ministries within the local church.

In its court filing, the archdiocese estimated assets between $10 million and $50 million, and liabilities between $50 million and $100 million. It listed its number of creditors between 200 and 1,000, with clients of attorney Jeff Anderson representing 17 of the 28 largest claimants.

In November, the archdiocese released its 2014 fiscal year financial statements that showed a $9 million deficit in operating activities, net assets down $8.9 million and total cash dropping 60 percent, from $9.5 million to $3.8 million.

At a press conference Friday, Anderson said his firm has been working for months to determine the fairest way to compensate victims. Past bankruptcies have seen average payouts from $42,000 (Helena, Mont.), to $750,000 (Wilmington, Del.), to $1.4 million (San Diego), the lawyer said, though it's uncommon for claimants to receive equal shares and numerous variables determine how much is paid and to whom.

Bankruptcy will put on hold cases filed against the archdiocese, including three set for trial Jan. 26. Two involve Anderson, whose firm has filed 16 total claims, in addition to another 112 notices of claims on behalf of alleged abuse victims.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who in July awarded Anderson an inaugural Pioneer Award, put forth a different view, that bankruptcy allows the archdiocese to change the subject from who was responsible for clergy sexual abuse to how will funds be divided. 

"Chapter 11 enables a bishop to protect what he cares about most: his own reputation, comfort and secrets. It stops depositions, discovery and clergy sex abuse and cover up trials. It's a smart but selfish legal maneuver that will effectively prevent Catholics from getting key information and victims from getting real justice," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP outreach director, in a statement. 

 

Catholic Church is Largest Backer of Minnesota Anti-Gay Amendment --- Meanwhile Milwaukee Archdiocese Uses Bankruptcy to Avoid Sexual Abuse Claims

The truly perverted priorities of the Roman Catholic Church are again on sharp display as two news items once again demonstrate that the Church will do all it can to avoid compensating victims of sexual abuse by priests - sometimes blaming lack of money as the excuse for underhanded tactics to screw over abuse victims - yet the Church hierarchy seems to have no problem finding money to throw at anti-gay amendments and initiatives all around America. To say that I find these "princes of the Church" disgusting doesn't even begin to describe my feelings. As I have noted before, if the Church had married clergy who had children of their own, I truly believe that we not be seeing the continued institutional callousness toward children and youths abused by predator priests which has been the norm for the last several decades - if not centuries. First, here are highlights from MSNBC on the continued effort of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to circumvent accountability to the victims of sexual abuse by priests:

About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — more than in any of the other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a lawyer involved in the Milwaukee case. The Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn't afford.

The archdiocese has paid more than $30 million in settlements and other court costs related to allegations of clergy abuse and more than a dozen suits against it have been halted because of the bankruptcy proceedings. One priest alone is accused of abusing some 200 boys at a suburban school for deaf students from 1950 to 1974.

James Stang, a bankruptcy lawyer who represents creditors in the Wisconsin case, estimated that about 550 claims had been filed by the Wednesday afternoon deadline set by the bankruptcy court.

Those who filed claims will end up splitting a settlement amount that will be determined by the creditors' committee, archdiocese and its insurance company. The archdiocese had only $4.6 million in assets to be applied to claims in 2010.

The other seven Catholic dioceses in the U.S. that have filed for bankruptcy since the clergy abuse scandal erupted in 2002 in Boston are in Davenport, Iowa; Fairbanks, Alaska; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; Spokane, Wash.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Wilmington, Del. Two other religious orders have also filed for bankruptcy.

Stang predicted the payouts wouldn't be on the generous side in Wisconsin. The creditors committee, archdiocese and its insurance company will negotiate a dollar amount. After that, those who filed claims will negotiate between themselves on how to divide the money.

"Insurance-coverage issues in Milwaukee cases haven't been very good for survivors," he said. "The rulings by courts there have not been survivor-friendly."

Frankly, the Archdiocese's claim that it only had $4.6 million in assets seems very suspect. Especially since the Church as a whole has found millions of dollars to direct towards anti-gay constitutional amendments and other anti-gay initiatives. Indeed, what the Church hierarchy and the Knights of Columbus - the latter, laughably, a supposed protector of families and children - have spent in California, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maryland and Washington State - to keep gay Americans third class citizens far exceeds the amount of assets the Milwaukee Archdiocese claimed it had available to compensate victims. Candidly, these victims were raped first by predator priests and now they are being raped again by the Church hierarchy and its dioceses. Here are highlights from a piece in The Uptake that looks at Catholic Church funding for the anti-gay constitutional amendment on the ballot in Minnesota:

The Catholic Archdiocese of Minneapolis & St. Paul and the Catholic Dioceses of New Ulm contributed $700,000 last year to support an anti-gay Minnesota constitutional amendment.

The church claims that money has not come from contributions it has received through its parishes, but from investment income.

The constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman, effectively banning gay or lesbian marriage, is scheduled to be on this November’s general election ballot. Half of that money, $350,000 has been donated to Minnesota For Marriage which is spearheading the push to get the constitutional amendment approved.

Increasingly, I cannot understand how rank and file Catholics don't feel morally dirty remaining a part of such a morally bankrupt and despicable institution. Like it or not, through their continued financial support of the Church and their local parishes, they are accessories to a worldwide conspiracy trafficking in the sexual abuse of children and youths.

Sex Abuse Victim Told to 'Go to Hell' by Catholic Archbishop

In what I suspect is a glimpse of the Roman Catholic Church's true attitude towards the victims of sexual abuse by priests, Australian Archbishop Denis Hart told a woman who had been sexually abused by a priest to "go to hell, bitch" when the woman was demanding redress for abuse she suffered at the hands of a priest after his suspension as a priest in the 1990s for abusing another woman had been overturned. Although the woman could have formatted her demands in a better fashion, what truly peeved the good Archbishop was that "his privacy had been significantly breached as a result of the early morning visit" by the abuse victim. In my opinion, the good archbishop has his priorities seriously f*cked up, but then with most of the members of the Catholic Church hierarchy I have met in the past, their egos were huge, it was all about them, and they demanded that the laity kiss their asses. Here are a few highlights from The Age:

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MELBOURNE Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart told a woman who had been sexually abused by a priest to "go to hell, bitch" in conduct labelled appalling by a Victorian magistrate. Archbishop Hart later apologised to the woman in the Melbourne Magistrates Court for what magistrate Anne Goldsborough described as ''appalling words of abuse''.

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Court documents confirm the archbishop's outburst after he was granted an intervention order against the woman, who had pursued him over her abuse by priest Barry Whelan in 2001. The magistrate said that a ''very, very angry'' Archbishop Hart had told the woman to ''go to hell bitch'' after she knocked on his door at 1.20am. . .

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The magistrate found that the archbishop was angry that his privacy had been significantly breached as a result of the early morning visit. But Ms Goldsborough rejected the archbishop's lawyer's claim that the victim's abuse was not a relevant factor in the intervention order court case.

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The Age reported yesterday that a St Patrick's Cathedral newsletter last month named Barry Whelan as a ''living treasure'', despite the church's own investigator finding that he had abused several woman. The archdiocese has said this was a mistake and has apologised.

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The Age investigation into the Melbourne Catholic Church's handling of sexual abuse claims has also reported: . . . . Comments from Melbourne Vicar General Les Tomlinson that there is a church sex abuse ''victims' industry'' that seeks to exploit victims to make money - which the Archbishop yesterday said ''weren't helpful''.

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As I have said before, there is no real contrition on the part of the Church hierarchy and that absent a total house cleaning of bishops and cardinals who covered up for and/or enabled predatory priests, the stage continues to be set for further instances of abuse no matter what blather the hierarchy puts out. The hierarchy is rotten to the core.

Sex Abuse By Priests: Due to Interrupted Sexual Development?

A new article by Dr. Laura Berman in the Chicago Sun Times looks at a theory of why sexual abuse of minors is prevalent among Roman Catholic priests. The theory is similar to one put forth in an article I read some years back written by a mental health expert who worked at a Maryland facility that attempted to treat priests guilty of sex abuse of minors. To put it bluntly, the problem stems from (a) the unnaturalness of celibacy and (2) the bizarre attitude of the Catholic Church towards sex which has historically been treated as something nasty and dirty. The combination added to the youth of many of the candidates for priesthood results in a sometimes twisted sexuality in priests. Naturally, the Vatican and other dour, senile members of the hierarchy pretend the issues don not exist. No doubt, Bill Donohue at the Catholic League will have fit over this column since telling the truth about the Church does not sit well with him. Here are some story highlights:

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On Tuesday the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that the Catholic Church will award $12.6 million to victims of sexual abuse involving priests. . . . The church's requirement that priests remain celibate is a key factor behind some priests' aberrant sexual behavior. Celibacy may create an unnatural situation that increases the likelihood of these abuses. In a perfect world spirituality can overcome something as basic as our sex drive; however, we don't live in a perfect world. The abuse victims speak volumes to this reality.

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When men enter the seminary for their training, many are still in sexual limbo and are figuring out their sexuality like any young person. Add to that a vow to deny the most basic of urges, and you have a recipe for disaster.

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For many people, an urge as basic and strong as the sex drive cannot be intellectualized away. Though it works for some priests, it's akin to trying to deny the urge to eat or go to the bathroom for others. Sexual desire becomes stunted, if not warped. Furthermore, some men may actually join the clergy as a way to escape homosexual (and what they believe to be sinful) urges, but of course, it is impossible to run away from these desires. Instead, these urges become exemplified in outlets such as sexual abuse.

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Rather than deeming the priesthood a hiding place for pedophiles, it seems more likely that interrupted sexual development leads to these unhealthy sexual behaviors. The priests' sexuality is stifled but not eradicated, and the opportunity is there with the young people to whom they are ministering. It's no excuse, but it offers a different perspective when looking for the solution.

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These victims need and deserve an open discussion and empathetic listening, as it is only through communication and honesty that these tragedies can be overcome.