Catholic Church: Always looking for greener pastures…
In recent weeks I’ve told you about abuse by Catholic Priests in Germany, Ireland, United States and Africa. Tonight we switch to The Netherlands. Dutch Catholic Bishops have ordered an investigation into more than 200 reported cases of child abuse dating back decades.
Earlier, the Vatican defended its response to child sex abuse allegations in a number of European states, saying it had reacted rapidly and decisively. That probably just means they made a quick decision to transfer the priests before any more cases came to light.
It also emerged on Tuesday that the head of a Salzburg monastery, Bruno Becker, had offered his resignation on Monday after confessing to having abused a boy 40 years ago, when he was a monk. Church authorities accepted his resignation immediately.
With all the cases I have spoken about, we know it has been going on for a lot longer than they admit. It didn’t just start in the 70′s. We know it was happening back in the 50′s and earlier. This is NOT a new phenomenon. It is not a case of a few bad apples. It IS a case of a lot of bad apples. The Catholic Church is rife with pedophiles. I know it, you know it and they know it.
The German, Austrian, Irish and US churches have all been damaged by sexual abuse scandals, and suggestions that senior clergy covered up what was happening. So finding out about The Netherlands should come as no surprise to anyone.
What also doesn’t surprise me is the reaction from the Church themselves. Earlier on Tuesday, a Vatican spokesman said in a statement the sexual abuse scandals were especially deplorable given the educational and moral responsibilities of the Catholic Church, but that the institutions in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands had shown that it wanted to be transparent.
“They have demonstrated their desire for transparency and, in a certain sense, accelerated the emergence of the problem by inviting victims to speak out, even when the cases involved date from many years ago,” said Father Federico Lombardi.
In a certain sense? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Probably just that they were caught and want to save face by any means.
Yeah, of course they want to be transparent. Sure they do. NOT! That is why Pope Joe wrote a document setting out how to conduct their own investigations and how to go about getting all documentation to the Vatican while not telling local authorities. If you read The Decree Crimen you will immediately see that they have no intention whatsoever of cooperating with local authorities. These guys consider themselves above the law. Tell me when you last heard of them coming forward and admitting to something as soon as they found out about it. You can’t, because they don’t. It’s only after the facts have come out.
It’s far too late for all this carrying on and expecting forgiveness from nearly everyone. Of course there are a few who are happy with an apology, but they aren’t the abused. This from a BBS reporter:
The worldwide media publicity given to the scandals has proved disconcerting to the Vatican, says the BBC’s David Willey in Rome. It is doing its best to limit the moral damage caused to the church by stressing that paedophilia is a problem not limited to Catholic institutions and teachers, but which must be tackled in a broader context within civil society, our correspondent adds.
Once again I ask you, what happens if you or I commit this crime? We get arrested, charged, brought before a court, found guilty and jailed.
What happens with Priests? Mainly, they get away with it. The church will pay off the families of the abused and get them to sign a vow of secrecy. Then they go on their merry way doing it all over again.
They are TAX EXEMPT because they are a religion and they should be using that money for charitable works.
- I don’t see the money being used to pay off the families as charity.
- I don’t see the money the courts make them pay to the abused as charity.
- I don’t see the money being spent on Public Relations firms as charity.
- I don’t see the money being spent on lawyers as charity.
To the victims of abuse in Catholic boarding schools, the religious leaders and bishops offer their deep-felt condolences and apologies.
How much pain do they think that will ease? Or is it just meant to help wash the blood off their hands?