Catholic Hierarchy sent Pedophile Priests to Other Countries


Combing over the records of Catholic dioceses investigators found patterns that Catholic administrators followed when faced with allegations about priests. After years of moving them from parish to parish they began to send them to other countries. A favorite one was Mexico. The explanation was a priest "had fled" to Mexico even though he may have remained on the payroll of a U.S. parish.

This dishonesty should be revolting to Catholic lay people. They should demand dismissal of all Bishops who took part in such shenanigans. But this is not an option for lay people. Catholic clergy are insulated from angry constituents. Over the past few hundred years clergy have slowly moved their sources of power away from church members and to themselves.

Moving priests to other countries where they again had access to children implies Bishops considered black or brown children not worth of the same protection as white children.

As the attorney representing children abused by priests said, every bit of hedging and misstatements by administrative clergy undermines the credibility of the institution of Catholic clergy. The system was designed to maximize the power of clergy and they have used that power in unseemly ways.

The link refers to the Catholic Church as a criminal organization. I would not go that far because I know most priests are not criminals.

The problem is not that pedophilia is so widespread it engulfs the entire organization. It is that there was no way internally before all this was revealed to effectively deal with it. The way the clergy organization was set up the easiest way to deal with it was to move priests around.

That should not have been the easiest way to deal with it. That should have been the most unattractive option. Mismanagement was present from back hundreds of years ago.

Comments

  1. Matt NoahApril 4, 2020 at 6:29 PM

    The Catholic Church has outlasted every form of secular government for the past 2000 years. Rome, Charlemagne (my ancestor), feudal kings and queens, etc. It's organizational structure has evolved insofar as it is allowed to evolve without breaking the apostolic line of Christ to Peter.

    At one time, the Church bishops fought with an English king or two over the discipline of the clergy.

    The Becket controversy or Becket dispute was the quarrel between Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England from 1163 to 1170.

    The Catholic Church in the modern age has done an awful job of disciplining priests who commit secular crimes. Instead of handing priests to secular authorities for investigation and potential prosecution, the Church absolved the penitent priests and attempted to rehabilitate them for service elsewhere in the Church. This was wrong. The thinking has radically changed for the better. The confessional is still sacred but a priest or other person in the employ of the Church can no longer hide.

    Jon, you are wrong about pedophilia. The more widespread problem is homosexuality. Both are sinful but only pedophilia is criminal.

    It is good to hear you repeat that you know most priests are not criminals. I would go further and say the vast majority of priests not only not criminal but are good, holy men of God.

    ReplyDelete
  2. tsmApril 4, 2020 at 6:37 PM

    don't you think that this topic is getting a tad tiresome/a little worn out?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make som
Read more

The Religious Capitol Invaders May Yet Win

Image
So much about U.S. society and religion can be learned from the Civil War and what happened afterwards. After its defeat, the South started a myth about the unethical soldiers from the North. The South fought for principles of God and states rights. The North did not. It was the South, this propaganda told the country, that had the high moral ground.  The Capitol invaders, encouraged by Trump, swallowed the myth that Biden's election was stolen. Thus, they think they held and still hold the high moral ground. This was reinforced by the cross and prayers during the invasion. Even with Trump is gone, we will see political opportunists like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley stroking crowds and feeding the same lies as Trump. Like "the South will rise again" these gullible followers will talk of victory over the unclean. After the Civil War the South rallied around the phrase, Lost Cause. For decades, and maybe to this day, there are ceremonies remembering fallen martyrs, Re
Read more

Father Frank Pavone, the Ultimate Crook

Image
Recently, the Vatican defrocked Frank Pavone. His diehard fans are outraged. This is because he cleverly manipulated his fans and the press all the while living well from donations and, apparently, abusing some women. By making abortion the "sin" of the century, and himself the main opposition to this one sin, he himself could get away with any sin he pleased.  As the link points out, Pavone was the perfect priest for the Trump era. Trump is so self-important laws have no role in his life. He felt accountable to no one. Women were there to be had. Pavone and Trump are interchangeable.  Pavone was very successful raising money. In his mind, abortion was so important in Catholic beliefs and he was so important in anti-abortion the money he raised opposing it was his to do with what he liked. The Catholic Church, the brand name he used to raise this money, thought the money belonged to it. When he gave the Vatican the bird, it gave him walking papers. With polls showing the majo
Read more