Vatican Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused Boys

[rdowns]

Link

Face palm. It makes me so angry how high up this goes in the Church. Why aren't these church officials prosecuted?

Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit.

Jeffrey Phelps for The New York Times
Arthur Budzinski, at a cemetery behind St. John's School for the Deaf, says he was first molested in 1960 when he went to Father Murphy for confession.
The internal correspondence from bishops in Wisconsin directly to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, shows that while church officials tussled over whether the priest should be dismissed, their highest priority was protecting the church from scandal.

[AP_piano295]

God's work...

[Teh Don Ditty]

The church is untouchable, you know the rdowns. They can do no wrong.

[yg17]

Originally Posted by Teh Don Ditty

The church is untouchable, you know the rdowns. They can do no wrong.

They're untouchable, but they can do the touching.

[Teh Don Ditty]

Originally Posted by yg17

They're untouchable, but they can do the touching.

Wouldn't have it any other way!

[leekohler]

The Vatican no longer has any moral authority. This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?

And if they keep trying to blame this on gay people, I'm gonna scream.

[Teh Don Ditty]

Originally Posted by leekohler

The Vatican no longer has any moral authority. This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?

And if they keep trying to blame this on gay people, I'm gonna scream.

They'll find a way to do it.

What they can do is perhaps let priests get married and have sex. You know, like normal human beings.

[leekohler]

Originally Posted by Teh Don Ditty

They'll find a way to do it.

What they can do is perhaps let priests get married and have sex. You know, like normal human beings.

This s*** is really getting old.

[Teh Don Ditty]

Originally Posted by leekohler

This s*** is really getting old.

Well, it is pretty much 2000 years old...

[iBlue]

I'm so goddamned sick of the vatican and their endless stream of BS. I really wish it could be banned because they do FAR more harm than good and miraculously get away with all of it.

Originally Posted by yg17

They're untouchable, but they can do the touching.

Heh. Indeed.

[yg17]

Originally Posted by Teh Don Ditty

What they can do is perhaps let priests get married and have sex. You know, like normal human beings.

Heh, I gurantee you if this priest had consentual sex with 200 adult women, the Vatican would've been quick to defrock him.

[Zombie Acorn]

Anyone else goes to jail for 30-40 years... priests get to pay people off.

[niuniu]

These guys run around claiming they do the will of a God or some ******, and people take it seriously? Last I heard that was a sure sign of a mental disorder. Lock all these pervert creeps up and keep them out of politics. They're rich too, well at least in Europe they are. Deep pockets and people are going homeless in the next street. Will of God my backside.

You know what would be a good start, legislation that subjects religious claims to the same burdens of proof that lie in science.

[ucfgrad93]

Agreed that the Catholic Church has mishandled the many priest molestations. They should kick the priest out and help support criminal prosecutions.

[Macaddicttt]

My understanding of this case was that civil authorities investigated in the 70s when it was going on and dropped the case. The Vatican was notified 30 years later, and didn't investigate since civil authorities already had and dropped the case.

If I'm misunderstanding the situation, then the Vatican made a serious, nearly unforgivable misstep.

And for all those who think that this really affects the moral standing of the Catholic Church in the eyes of Catholics, look up Alexander VI. He was far worse than any other pope, yet Catholics still follow the Church's teachings.

I don't think many people on this forum understand the basis of the Catholic Church's moral authority. It certainly isn't based on the actions of the Vatican.

[Sydde]

Someone help me understand this:

“I simply want to live out the time that I have left in the dignity of my priesthood,” Father Murphy wrote near the end of his life to Cardinal Ratzinger. “I ask your kind assistance in this matter.”

Excuse me? It would seem that he had none of that left. Or was it (from what I gather from the story) because there was no actual buggery going on, just hand-jobs? Was he simply providing instruction in sexuality?

This is also troubling to me:

The Vatican’s inaction is not unusual. Only 20 percent of the 3,000 accused priests whose cases went to the church’s doctrinal office between 2001 and 2010 were given full church trials... Ten percent left voluntarily.

And that was it? No other kind of prosecution? I get that forgiveness is important to church teachings, but these were freaking crimes, for christ sake (so to speak).

[leekohler]

Originally Posted by Macaddicttt

I don't think many people on this forum understand the basis of the Catholic Church's moral authority. It certainly isn't based on the actions of the Vatican.

I certainly hope not. They have no morals.

[jav6454]

Originally Posted by rdowns

Link

Face palm. It makes me so angry how high up this goes in the Church. Why aren't these church officials prosecuted?

They normally change them to another location, a remote one usually. Catholic church is a stubborn one.

See Dark Ages for more details.

[leekohler]

Sinead O'Connor had it right in the first place:

Since ripping up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992, Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor has made her issues with the Catholic Church known.

Now, in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, the singer talks about Pope Benedict XVI’s “pastoral letter” apologizing to the people of Ireland for the church’s past failures, saying “there should be a full criminal investigation of the pope.” The pope’s letter is in response to the rising number of allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests across Europe.

“It's a study in the fine art of lying and actually betraying your own people,” O’Connor says of the apology. “He starts by saying that he's writing with great concern for the people of Ireland. If he was that concerned, why has it taken him 23 years to write a letter, and why did he or the last pope never get on an airplane and come to meet the victims in any of these countries and apologize?”

http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Ent...gate_the_Pope/

[skunk]

More from Sinead O'Connor:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...032502363.html

When I was a child, Ireland was a Catholic theocracy. If a bishop came walking down the street, people would move to make a path for him. If a bishop attended a national sporting event, the team would kneel to kiss his ring. If someone made a mistake, instead of saying, "Nobody's perfect," we said, "Ah sure, it could happen to a bishop."

The expression was more accurate than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology -- of sorts -- to Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland, the pope's letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the humiliation of children

An interesting read.

[IntheNet]

Originally Posted by skunk

More from Sinead O'Connor

I personally don't think her word is of relevance here; she's complained against the Church for many years as a way to justify her immoral lifestyle.

[renewed]

One of the many negatives of a cult...

[Badandy]

Originally Posted by IntheNet

I personally don't think her word is of relevance here; she's complained against the Church for many years as a way to justify her immoral lifestyle.

So just because she's a lesbian that absolves the wrongs that the catholic church (small "c") has done?

[TechieJustin]

I still support the church 100%.

[gilkisson]

Originally Posted by IntheNet

I personally don't think her word is of relevance here; she's complained against the Church for many years as a way to justify her immoral lifestyle.

Of course. She should have been either fed to the wolves at birth, stoned to death, or burned at the stake. Right? Dear gods and little fishes, man! Can you not take just one moment, put your political BS glasses aside, draw a deep breath, and ****** THINK for yourself???? Come on!!! She is talking about little children abused by priests!! Stop jerking your knee in reaction, and actually THINK!

Originally Posted by TechieJustin

I still support the church 100%.

Best of luck to you.