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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Excerpts from Official Reports on Sex Abuse by Roman Catholic Clergy, 1.



MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S REPORT, July 23, 2003

Summary:

The investigation did produce evidence that widespread sexual abuse of children was due to an institutional acceptance of abuse and a massive and pervasive failure of leadership.

A. Top Archdiocese officials knew of the extent of the abuse problem for many years before it became known to the public.

B. The Archdiocese's response to reports of the sexual abuse of children, including maintaining secrecy of reports, placed children at risk.

C. The Archdiocese did not notify law enforcement authorities of clergy sexual abuse allegations. Clergy were not mandated reporters until 2002. Archdiocese policy of 1993 did not require reporting.

D. Archdiocese officials did not provide all relevant information to law enforcement authorities during criminal investigations.

E. The Archdiocese failed to conduct thorough investigations of clergy sexual abuse allegations.

F. The Archdiocese placed children at risk by transferring abusive priests to other parishes.

G. The Archdiocese placed children at risk by accepting abusive priests from other dioceses.


PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY I, 2003-2005, Report issued Sept. 15, 2005

Excerpts:

This report contains the findings of the Grand Jury: how dozens of priests sexually abused hundreds of children; how Philadelphia Archdiocese officials -including Cardinal Bevilacqua and Cardinal Krol -excused and enabled the abuse; and how the law must be changed so that it doesn't happen again. Some may be tempted to describe these events as tragic. Tragedies such as tidal waves, however, are outside human control. What we found were not acts of God, but of men who acted in His name and defiled it.

But the biggest crime of all is this: it worked. The abuser priests, by choosing children as targets and trafficking on their trust, were able to prevent or delay reports of their sexual assaults, to the point where applicable statutes of limitations expired. And Archdiocese officials, by burying those reports they did receive and covering up the conduct, similarly managed to outlast any statutes of limitation. As a result, these priests and officials will necessarily escape criminal prosecution. We surely would have charged them if we could have done so. But the consequences are even worse than the avoidance of criminal penalties. Sexually abusive priests were either left quietly in place or "recycled" to unsuspecting new parishes -vastly expanding the number of children who were abused. It didn't have to be this way. Prompt action and a climate of compassion for the child victims could have significantly limited the damage done. But the Archdiocese chose a different path. (Introduction to the Grand Jury Report, p. 1)

The behavior of Archdiocese officials was perhaps not as lurid as that of the individual priest sex abusers. But in its callous, calculating manner, the Archdiocese's "handling" of the abuse scandal was at least as immoral as the abuse itself. The evidence before us established that Archdiocese officials at the highest levels received reports of abuse; that they chose not to conduct any meaningful investigation of those reports; that they left dangerous priests in place or transferred them to different parishes as a means of concealment; that they never alerted parents of the dangers posed by these offenders (who typically went out of their way to be friendly and helpful, especially with children); that they intimidated and retaliated against victims and witnesses who came forward about abuse; that they manipulated "treatment" efforts in order to create a false impression of action; and that they did many of these things in a conscious effort simply to avoid civil liability.

In short, as abuse reports grew, the Archdiocese chose to call in the lawyers rather than confront the abusers. Indeed Cardinal Bevilacqua himself was a lawyer, with degrees from both a canon law school and an American law school. Documents and testimony left us with no doubt that he and Cardinal Krol were personally informed of almost all of the allegations of sexual abuse by priests, and personally decided or approved of how to handle those allegations. (Overview of the cover-up by archdiocese officials, p. 3)

12 comments:

  1. I say again: Every single church is guilty of such behavior. Only the Catholics have endured such scrutiny and only the Catholics have been so forthcoming with evidence.

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  2. When an organization, calling itself a church, not only fails to heed the qualifications God has explicitly given for men who aspire to leadership in the church, but actually bars from the offices of the church any man who meets those qualifications, is it a mystery why we find ungodly men filling the positions of power and leadership in that organization?

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  3. Philip, the very nature of these charges (found via official investigations, not just in these two, but there are many, many more where these two are from), is that the Catholics are decidedly NOT forthcoming. They are decidedly very stingy with evidence.

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  4. "I say again: Every single church is guilty of such behavior. Only the Catholics have endured such scrutiny and only the Catholics have been so forthcoming with evidence."

    Catholics claim that the RCC is the Church that Christ gave us, that in it is the "fullness of truth" and that outside of it there is no salvation. In other words Catholics make very lofty claims about their church. Claims which Catholics think no other church can make. However, when someone points out the flaws, the deviancy from those lofty claims, the history of abuses, Catholics resort to the defense that everyone else is just as bad. They desire the benefits of the lofty claims but deny the accountability to those standards.

    Is the RCC really "a cut above" other churches or not?

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  5. This is only one diocese, not every diocese in the Catholic Church. To tarbrush the RCC this way, would be just as unfair if I tarbrshed all of the Baptist Churches because of Jack Hyles's reprehensible misconduct at the 1st Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiania.
    Ex, what you said about us applies equally to the scandals in the Protestant churches, so don't be so eager to use the tarbrush.
    EA, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Old and New Testaments makes it quite plain that the Israelites and the Catholics fell into some horrendous sins. But to claim that we don't have the truth because of those sins is nonsense. The truth will be there because God will preserve it in the Church. The Church itself is the pillar and ground of truth. So the number of sinning Catholics is irrelevant, the truth is going to be there for us. May we be eager to embrace it.

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  6. Steve Dalton -- Again, the original document goes on for about 30 pages, to talk about many diocese, in several countries, and again, all of this was compiled from official ("grand jury", "Attorneys General", and other offical sources), by a Roman Catholic priest.

    If you want to kid yourself that "everyone is just as bad", you are free to try to find something "just as bad" in the Protestant world.

    Where do you find a Protestant "Cardinal" who is excusing and enabling abuse, and actually (as later reports show) turning against the victims? Good luck with that.

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  7. The Church itself is the pillar and ground of truth.

    You may want to check out some of what we've written about that. Consider, too, that the official group who you're calling the "pillar and ground of truth" is also the ones who are officially making the policies that are causing/enabling such "Cardinals" as Bevilaqua and Law to wreak all the havoc they wreaked on innocent victims.

    So the number of sinning Catholics is irrelevant, the truth is going to be there for us.

    This truth?

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  8. EA,

    The Church is both a visible human society and an invisible mystical body. The former element is fallible and sinful while the latter element is perfect and pure.

    The Church freely admits that she is a hospital for sinners. Even the Successor of Peter is capable of committing grave evil. Saint Bridget called one pope (I forget which one) a "murderer of souls." Thomas More suffered martyrdom during the reign of a rather miserable Pontiff.

    Now, as to your question: The unique and exalted nature of the Catholic Church has nothing to do with the vice or virtue of her members. And even if that were the case, she would stand head and shoulders above everyone else, having produced countless saints, men and women who worked great wonders, converted whole pagan nations, repelled Muslim hordes, founded myriad hospitals, universities, hospices, destroyed vile heresies, and created the most profound and compelling art in the history of mankind.

    Catholicism has given more to humanity than any other organization. Her charity is unrivaled and, despite many blemishes, her moral authority is unparalleled.

    The Church is guilty of many crimes, some quite horrific. Among those guilty of these crimes are bishops, cardinals, and even popes. But these bad apples hardly prove the corruption of the tree. That is like chopping down a healthy and fruitful apple tree because a handful of apples that have fallen to the ground are worm-ridden and rotten.

    The Church has endured many trials. She always emerges stronger. And she always outlives her persecutors and opponents. As we speak, she is entering a period of renaissance. The generations that matured under John Paul II and Benedict XVI are theologically and morally orthodox. They are zealous for Christ and His church. I bet my left arm that their efforts lead to a golden age of Catholicism.

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  9. Philip, you are making an assumption that the Roman Catholic Church is "the Church". That certainly is Roman doctrine, but I don't accept Roman doctrine about "the Church".

    To be sure there is an "invisible mystical body" which is redeemed, and will be glorified ("already/not yet"), but this does not correspond in any way with the Roman hierarchy or Roman doctrines.

    That said, the Roman "tree" has, in many ways, proven its corruption. The individuals you speak of may have "worked great wonders", and I'll even allow that individual Roman Catholics may be among the redeemed (in spite of, not because of their adherence to unique Roman Catholic teaching).

    The ony reason Roman Catholic "moral authority" is unparalleled is because it has hoodwinked people like you into thinking it is somehow "THE Church", rather than an aberrant outgrowth that has church-like trappings.

    The generations that matured under John Paul II and Benedict XVI are theologically and morally orthodox. They are zealous for Christ and His church. I bet my left arm that their efforts lead to a golden age of Catholicism.

    Good luck with that.

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  10. "This is only one diocese, not every diocese in the Catholic Church. To tarbrush the RCC this way, would be just as unfair if I tarbrushed all of the Baptist Churches because of Jack Hyles's reprehensible misconduct at the 1st Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana."

    Frankly, this appeal is disingenuous. Catholic e-pologists typically want to count individual Protestant churches as denominations (30,00+ denominations, etc.). But now in order to deflect criticism of their denomination they will appeal to the similarity of Baptist congregations as a unifying principle. Which is it? Do various Baptist congregations amount to a single denomination or individual ones? Or do you reserve the right to count them as befits your arguments against denominationalism?


    "EA, what you said about us applies equally to the scandals in the Protestant churches, so don't be so eager to use the tarbrush."

    Again, does the RCC claim a higher standard and is it willing to live up to it, or not? If the RCC is qualitatively better, why so demure when judged against the higher standard? Put away the evil one from among yourselves. Why try to defend the sinful man against the prescription of God?

    "EA, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

    No argument here, except of course in the case of Mary, in which case, 'all' doesn't mean 'all'.

    "The Old and New Testaments makes it quite plain that the Israelites and the Catholics fell into some horrendous sins."

    Neither the Old nor New Testaments make mention of "Catholics", but don't let that stop you.

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  11. "The unique and exalted nature of the Catholic Church has nothing to do with the vice or virtue of her members."

    Really? Do you deny the Treasury of Merit? If the works of the saints don't accrue to the Treasury of Merit, where do the effects of those meritorious works go?

    "And even if that were the case, she would stand head and shoulders above everyone else, having produced countless saints, men and women who worked great wonders, converted whole pagan nations, repelled Muslim hordes, founded myriad hospitals, universities, hospices, destroyed vile heresies, and created the most profound and compelling art in the history of mankind."

    Several issues here:

    1) This seeks to frame the argument in a "heads I win, tails you lose" dynamic which I deny.

    2) This line of reasoning seeks to at the same time claim credit for meritorious works of the "saints" while discounting the works of "sinners" within the Church.

    3) It seeks to claim the Church as the producer of saintly acts rather than Christ.

    4) The Church repels Muslim hordes? How does that square with CCC 841? This seems a rather medieval attitude.

    5) Did the "Church" found hospitals, universities, hospices or did individuals?

    6) Did the "Church" produce "the most profound and compelling art in the history of mankind" or did individuals engage and encourage other individuals to create said artwork?

    Catholics like to assign credit to the "Church" and to assign blame to "individuals".

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  12. Philip, to claim that the church is being "persecuted" is beyond reprehensible. Your "church" (which is actually a den of heresy) is not being persecuted, they're being punished for decades of evil stuff. They're being punished for raping kids and covering it up. They deserve everything they get. Wise up and jump that sinking boat of yours.

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