American bishops: less than zero tolerance

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 5:47 am

Latest story on this, at the Boston Globe website. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly is apparently very concerned with an RCC draft policy on abuse, and the procedure for its implementation:

''The commission can do outstanding work, but if the policy it creates isn't implemented, what good is it?'' Reilly asked. ''We have concerns about implementation. What is the role of the Vatican? If the Vatican doesn't like it, does it still get implemented? Is this policy going to be statewide or just for Boston? It must be statewide. We have to nail this stuff down. So far, the archdiocese has not impressed us with their commitment to implementation. They take half-steps, so you have to question their commitment."

The whole story is up at http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/197/n ... lan+.shtml

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 6:01 am

The American Catholic churches need to appease two constituencies: the public (who fills their coffers) and the Vatican. I see this latest waffling as a direct result of the Vatican's unwillingness to address abusive priests, not only in the United States, but worldwide.

Americans are out for blood over this. We want abusors beaten senseless and hung out to dry. I think the majority of Catholics and Catholic clergy want this, too.

Unfortunately, leadership on an issue like this comes from the top down and it appears that the Pope wants this scandal to go away (ie-"taken care of") more than he wants to solve the root problem. The way I see it, the Vatican has two main concerns. First, they don't want to subject themselves to secular law. As I've said before, the church has long considered itself above man's laws and answerable only to God. This is flawed and arrogant.

Second, if the Vatican comes down with a heavy-handed policy that defrocks abusive priests and turns them over to local authorities in the United States, they will have to do the same worldwide, where abuse is apparently more widespread and more severe. The last thing the Vatican wants is to have this blow up in their faces in the third world; up until now, this has been characterised as a problem isolated to the RCC in the US, but they don't think they can afford for it to spread. This, too, is flawed reasoning because they will lose much more long-term credibility when similar scandals are uncovered throughout the world.

The US bishops are in a tough spot. They cannot act without the support of the Vatican, and can be asked to resign if they go too far. At the same time, they cannot stand by and do nothing but pay out-of-court settlements to hush victims (which is what I believe the Vatican wants them to do).

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 6:30 am

Originally posted by HighLordDave
The last thing the Vatican wants is to have this blow up in their faces in the third world; up until now, this has been characterised as a problem isolated to the RCC in the US, but they don't think they can afford for it to spread.

Apropos of this, Germany's Deutsche Welle contains a report from Der Spiegel about a priest that has been suspended after being charged recently for repeated sexual abuse in the 1980s. A bishops' conference in Germany in going through the same motions as its American counterparts did in Dallas earlier this year, though to considerably less fanfare. (This is a major election year in Germany.) A grassroots group of Roman Catholics that has become very popular of late, We Are Church, has accused the bishops of playing down the issue of pedophilia. Here's the link: http://kleist.dwelle.de/english/current ... airs2.html

This, too, is flawed reasoning because they will lose much more long-term credibility when similar scandals are uncovered throughout the world.

I suppose at this point they're damned (no pun intended) if they do, and damned if they don't. If things are as bad nationwide in the US as they are in Boston, and as bad worldwide (or worse) than they are in the US, the RCC hierarchy may view itself as sitting on top of a nuclear bomb. Whether they wait a few months or set it off now, they're still going to find their credibility in pieces when it goes off.

The US bishops are in a tough spot. They cannot act without the support of the Vatican, and can be asked to resign if they go too far. At the same time, they cannot stand by and do nothing but pay out-of-court settlements to hush victims (which is what I believe the Vatican wants them to do).

Well, it has been SOP for years, at least in the US. The ironic thing is that the current Pope has stacked the cardinals over the years with ultra-conservatives of similar stripe to his beliefs. This means the RCC will likely choose another Pope of similar opinions when the present one dies; and even a younger, more energetic John Paul II would be ideologically incapable of dealing with such a problem and all the underlying issues that are attached to it. The RCC needs a reformer at the very least, not a hidebound conservative with both eyes firmly gazing on the 6th century AC.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 7:37 am

Originally posted by fable
I suppose at this point they're damned (no pun intended) if they do, and damned if they don't.

I hate to keep going back to this, but it seems that no one has learned from the Clinton and Reagan administrations on how (not) to deal with a scandal. If the church had come clean on this early; first acknowledging that there was a problem and then gave the appearance of acting in a pro-active manner in dealing with the problem instead of pretending it didn't exist, they would not be in the bind they are in now. Instead, the RCC is beseiged by detractors and critics (some legit, some just piling on) and shows the public face of an institution trying to sweep a longstanding and well-known problem under the rug.

Damage control is soooooo much easier on the front end, but since the Vatican has taken a different approach, instead of paying a little bit up front in cash settlements and lost clergy, they are going to be paying for a long, long time in lost credibility and distrust. I have no doubt that one day the RCC will recover; they've been around for millenia so they have shown that they are resilient, but they are more vulnerable now than they have been in many years.

Will the church be able to whitewash this whole incident? Probably not. However, the Pope still has a chance to promulgate a sweeping church doctrine that takes a firm stance against priest abuse and punishes offenders in secular courts as well as heavenly ones and restores some confidence in the RCC's leadership. I think if there is any impetus for change, it will (unfortunately) come through empty collections plates. People vote with their wallets and if donations dry up because either people believe that the church has not done enough or because they don't want their money going to settle lawsuits, then the church will be forced to either sell property (not likely) or make some institutional reforms.

Don't get me wrong; I like John Paul II. I do not believe he's the mouthpiece of God, but I think he's a good guy. However, I think he's been in office too long, is in too poor health and has gotten out so little in the later years of his life that he's out of touch with the world and modern Catholics (I am not Catholic, so someone who is may want to comment on this). I think the next Pope will have to be a little reform-minded or face a massive worldwide decline.

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Jul 19, 2002 4:44 am

We touched upon the probable spread of this scandal to other religions a whie ago. Now, it's finally begun. Here's the story: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/200/m ... ges+.shtml

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Fri Jul 19, 2002 8:09 am

Well, it's good to see that other denominations are seeming to take pro-active stances on this issue. I think the RCC has taken the worst possible track and tried to cover for its clergy. It's also important for the other denominations (even outside of Christianity) to acknowledge that priest abuse isn't isolated to the Catholic church, although I think you'd be hard pressed to find another church body that has covered for offenders in the institutional way the RCC has done for the past several decades.