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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAbout those 400 defrocked pedophile priests: Where are they now?
From mid-article:
It is not enough to defrock sickness, for as much as the church wants to classify the raping of children as a sin, we are governed by laws, not religion. In our world, people who prey on children are held accountableprosecuted and, if found guilty, punished by the laws of our justice system.
Last December, Pope Francis set up a Vatican child sex abuse task force, but that was two days after they refused to provide information to the United Nations on just how they were handling growing allegations.
Victims worldwide have cried out for justice for decades and last Thursdays showdown with the U.N. in Geneva might finally force the Vatican to undertake the expansive reforms needed to bring about change, not just in Vatican City but worldwide.
Though advocates aren't holding their breath in anticipation, for they feel the Churchs response at the recent U.N. hearing was to defend their inaction.
After coming under a blistering attack for their abysmal record on child abuse, the Holy See insisted the Vatican had little jurisdiction globally and that it was up to local law enforcement in those countries.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/16400809-about-those-400-defrocked-pedophile-priests-where-are-they-now-video
They know who the pedophiles are... They have the evidence to defrock them but they refuse to hand it over to the police so they can be prosecuted.
They know... They kick them out to try and protect themselves from lawsuits but they continue to protect them.
They know... They let them go free to continue being predators.
Yay pope
gerogie2
(450 posts)Only a small number are actually pedophiles. 1/3 of the priests had broken they vow of celibacy and had sex with adults. A large portion of the priests had sex with a teenager 16 or older which is statutory rape.
It is up to the victim to decide if they want to press charges. The majority of sex abuse victims do not prosecute.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)You really believe that?
Amazing what allows people to continue supporting sick shit bags.
Unless the victim is willing to testify in court no prosecution will ever go forward in a sex abuse case.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)Do you think the church is right to not turn everything over?
gerogie2
(450 posts)That such actions are OK, I'm just discussing the reality of sex abuse prosecutions and clearing the air that it wasn't 400 pedophile priests. I hope every victim gets their justice, but it can be a hard road to go down as my family learned.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)To hard to prosecute so let them go free?
That is fucked up.
El_Johns
(1,805 posts)That is fucked up.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)When what is being said is a mile long stretch that can only have one purpose... Yeah, I'm good with that.
What about you... You ok with that church protecting pedophiles?
El_Johns
(1,805 posts)Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)I'm shocked
El_Johns
(1,805 posts)endeavor as they translate anything you say to their private language.
As you have just demonstrated.
It's creepy and anti-social.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)That is what creepy is.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Some were leaned on pretty hard to not say anything. Others were pressured into settlements in exchange for not prosecuting. The Church in effect abused survivors and their families AGAIN by using its power to get its way. The Corporate Roman Catholic Church can be just as ruthless and heartless as any other business. Instead of showing sympathy and willingness to cooperate, all the Church cared about was itself and its image.
The reason I know this is, I knew a lot of survivors and their situations through my involvement with Voice of the Faithful, and by extension, SNAP.
At least Francis is finally doing something about getting these sick fucks out of the priesthood. Thing is, to laicize a priest can take years, and in the interim, they still draw a paycheck. I don't know if the Pope can expedite this process, but once it's proven beyond any reasonable doubt that a priest is an abuser, he needs to be GONE, in jail, and registered as a sexual predator for the REST OF HIS LIFE.
gerogie2
(450 posts)If the victim refused to talk or refused to cooperate with a prosecution then nothing could be done.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)Church can prove enough to defrock them but the police would be powerless... You really believe that? It sounds like a load of shit to me.
gerogie2
(450 posts)you learn about criminal law and how it is prosecuted in the United States.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)Plus, we have no idea if they would testify or not, so we will assume they won't so... Lets just forget the whole thing...
Fucking nuts.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)VATICAN CITY -- A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for molesting children.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-defrocked-400-priests-in-2-years-over-sex-abuse-document-shows/
Try again, look for another excuse.
warrant46
(2,205 posts)With statements such as ===
Father Feeney is now getting the help he needed
It would be bad for your son to get up in front of those people on the Jury
Father Feeney won't do it again we are praying for him
Xithras
(16,191 posts)In most of the U.S., having sex with a 16 year old isn't even a prosecutable crime. In states where it is statutory rape, or where special exemptions in the law exist to prosecute those in power positions who engage in them, the statutes of limitations are very short.
Here in California, for example, child molestation has a statute of limitations that basically boils down to "8 years after it's reported to the police". If a child is molested at 10, and doesn't report it until they're 30, the abuser can be prosecuted until the victim is 38.
With statutory rape in the same state, the statute of limitations is 1 year for misdemeanor "touching", or a maximum of 3 years for actual copulation or penetration. If a 30 year old sleeps with a 17 year old, and the 17 year old doesn't report it for 5 years, the older person gets away with it.
Many of these priests are being defrocked for crimes that happened decades ago. In most of these cases, the option of prosecuting doesn't exist any longer.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)I was in 7th grade. Probably about 4 foot 6. 80ish pounds.
After I got raped I was completely ashamed. Was it up to me to go to the police?
Was it my choice to hide that pervertd buggery?
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)Note, I am NOT making light of this crime, and I salute your courage in sharing this here. The church, as you are no doubt aware, actually did say things like this.
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)Essentially, based on normal reporting rates it is entirely likely that as many as one in every four or five US priests were raping children -- and the church and everyone involved with them knew it and did nothing.
El_Johns
(1,805 posts)Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)El_Johns
(1,805 posts)Like the people who are screeching "400 pedophile priests" when it isn't.
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)"Like the people who are screeching "400 pedophile priests" when it isn't." I whole heartedly agree with you on that comment
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)Your premise is wrong as always.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)They refused to work with the UN and defended their inaction there... When did they hand everything over?
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)Last edited Fri Jan 31, 2014, 01:23 AM - Edit history (1)
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)The church has proof... They simply prefer to protect themselves and the pedophiles.
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)On 21 August 2013, Wesołowski resigned as nuncio.
On 2 September 2013 television stations in the Dominican Republic reported that Wesołowski had possibly been involved in child abuse. By then it was believed that Wesołowski had left the country.
On 3 September 2013 Agripino Núñez Collado, president of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra and spokesperson of the Dominican Catholic church, said that Wesołowski had been recalled to the Vatican because of a child abuse allegations.
On 4 September 2013, Dominican Republic authorities started an investigation into Wesołowski. The Vatican confirmed there was an investigation into Wesołowski by both the Vatican and the Dominican Republic authorities and that he had been recalled by the Vatican. A Vatican spokesperson denied that allegations of child abuse were the basis for the recall, but said the allegations were serious enough to suspend Wesołowski during the investigation. Local church leaders later denied that Wesołowski was being investigated for child abuse affairs and described his recall as an administrative procedure. A priest accused along with Wesołowski, Wojciech Gil, had returned home to Poland, and Dominican investigators provided their Polish counterparts with extensive documentation in September, though Poland and the Dominican Republic have no extradition treaty. Gil had been suspended from his duties in May 2013 while on vacation in his native Poland.
In January 2014 there were reports that the Vatican had refused to extradite Wesołowski to his native Poland, based on the Vatican's reply to an inquiry from District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw that said: "Archbishop Wesolowski is a citizen of the Vatican, and Vatican law does not allow for his extradition." According to Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi, no extradition request had been made and the Vatican, Poland, and the Dominican Republic were cooperating with one another. As of January 2014, he said that Wesołowski is subject to a canonical investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and possible outcomes could include his defrocking, ending his status as both a priest and a bishop. He also said that criminal charges to be tried in a Vatican court were a possibility.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)The backward 'logic' of the pope supporters is amazing.
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)This ain't no fast food drive through. Let the investigation take it's course.
Ohio Joe
(21,761 posts)That is not 'working together'... That is protecting a pedophile.
Skittles
(153,174 posts)they'll twist themselves into pretzels
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)STOP IT ELLIPSIS; YER KILLING ME
Ellipsis
(9,124 posts)Walk away
(9,494 posts)He's in charge
mackerel
(4,412 posts)He was in Belgium but a diligent group found him. He was then caught with pornography and went back to lock-up for a year and now he is in Limerick.