On Monday, May 16, 2011, the Vatican issued a letter (euphemistically labeled an "edict" by Rome) to all its bishops worldwide to draw up tough guidelines in dealing with priests who rape or molest children. It obliges bishops to cooperate with local law enforcements in reporting sex crimes of any priest. As with most edicts traveling the labyrinth of sewer pipes from Rome to its ecclesiastical hierarchy, it borders on the absurd of gargantuan proportions, highlighted and underscored by its doublespeak and reserve clause: It “recommends” that policies be put in place to exclude the accused priests from public ministry – “if they pose a continued danger to minors or could be a cause of scandal for the community.” Hardball questions immediately arise: 1-Why is the Vatican placing the burden of “drawing up guidelines” on the bishops? Such a burden of responsibility needs to exit from the Church’s supreme authority, the Vatican itself. 2-What are the Vatican synonyms for “recommends”? Suggests? Requests? (How about “demands” whereby the Vatican states in blatant terms – and with an iron fist -- it will now have zero tolerance for such criminal acts?) 3-Is there any pedophile priest that does not “pose a continued danger to minors”? 4-What is the rationale of being “a cause of scandal for the community”? (As usual, the Vatican is more interested in shielding itself from scandals than in protecting the emotional, psychological, and physical well being of the victims.) 5-What disciplinary actions will take place by the Vatican against its bishops who fail to execute the edict? 6-What happens to the bishop if he himself is the criminal?
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The sex abuse of minors by the Catholic clergy continues to be rampant, despite its constant mass media coverage from Cardinal Bernard Law’s attempts at not admitting guilt of coverups via lapses of memory or ignorance in hiding and/or transferring pedophile priests, a story which broke nationwide in 2000. For the “Doubting Thomas,” one simply needs to program the Google Alert option, entering the subject as “Priest Sex Abuse,” which will result in 2-3 daily reports of cases worldwide. Two out of hundreds in the past half-decade: 1- AP News: May 24, 2010: “Priest Accused of Abusing Boy, 2-N.Y. Times: Feb. 11, 2011: “Philadelphia Priests Accused by Grand Jury of Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up” In America, the supreme rule of “Separation of Church and State” continues to reign. The Vatican still relishes it, disregarding the fact that Catholic Religious Orders and archdioceses have spent $30 billion in compensation to victims of clergy sexual abuse in the mere past 3 years. Phillip Lawler, editor of Catholicculture.org stated the pervading problem quite succinctly: “The Catholic Church continually fails to define what it means by ‘the good of the church.’ It fails to realize that, for the most part, Catholics and non-Catholics alike have already lost any respect or admiration it once had for it." The terms "priest" and "pedophile" remain rampantly synonymous, and the Church is constantly failing to take decisive, strong-arm action against it. Bishops, specifically chosen and sanctioned by the Vatican, are the ruling authorities of their flocks. As long as church officials who ignore and conceal abuse are tolerated and promoted, with most abuse victims remaining silent for excessive time periods, the Vatican will continue to promulgate its façade of "We’re sorry," but basically nothing will change. WJK-May, 2011
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Turning Home into 'Erotic Dungeon' Surrenders To Police”