Keep denying Rome has a problem and the problem will continue, destroying lives, family, communities and faiths.
Posted on 04/08/2010 11:36:45 PM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg
A West Texas teen filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Archdiocese of San Antonio and Archbishop Jose Gomez alleging repeated sexual assaults by a parish priest, who he says the church's leadership should have known was abusive.
The allegations came just days after Gomez was named to a high-profile post leading the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where he is scheduled to be formally introduced to parishioners in May.
The lawsuit accuses the Rev. John M. Fiala of repeatedly sexually assaulting the teen, including twice forcing him to have sex at gunpoint when Fiala was the pastor at Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in the remote community of Rocksprings. The lawsuit alleges the incidents occurred in 2007 and 2008, during Gomez's tenure overseeing a swath of south and west Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
From the desk of Joe Ratzinger...
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/churchdocs/EpistulaEnglish.htm
No, sorry. I’m not the one who’s blind. Before 2001, abuse cases did not make it to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith unless a violation of the confessional was involved, and Cardinal Ratzinger was the one who got that changed and streamlined the process. Before that, cases were dealt with at the diocesan level. Facts in this whole affair seem to be getting in the way of a good smear campaign. And the facts are out there, but it seems not salacious enough for general consumption as it diminishes the false claims pretty efficiently.
I’m reading that as the prescription, or statute of limitations, runs out after 10 years, or 10 years from the age of 18, if the victim was a minor when the abuse occurred. So they have until they are 28 to report the crime which will begin the ecclesiastical trial. How is this covering anything up? It says nothing about secrecy unless the seal of the confessional is involved.
Keep denying Rome has a problem and the problem will continue, destroying lives, family, communities and faiths.
Delicts against the sanctity of the sacrament of penance, namely:
1. Absolution of an accomplice in sin against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue.(8)
2. Solicitation in the act, on the occasion or under the pretext of confession, to sin against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue, if it is directed to sin with the confessor himself.(9)
3. Direct violation of the sacramental seal.(10)
-A delict against morals, namely: the delict committed by a cleric against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue with a minor below the age of 18 years.
This is the crime that is truly in question. The three above it are specific to the confessional which is still subject to the seal and subject to secrecy BY THE CONFESSOR under penalty of excommunication. Any penitent, that is the person making a confession, is free to tell of what happened there at any time. Only the priest cannot break the seal. So, if a victim was solicited inside a confessional, they can go to the press, but the priest cannot publicly defend himself under penalty of excommunication. And the statute of limitations, or prescription, runs out in 10 years.
This document is the order from 2001 that transferred the abuse caseload to the CDF from the diocesan courts that were dragging their feet and not doing their jobs. How does it say that people cannot go public for that length of time?
t must be noted that the criminal action on delicts reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is extinguished by a prescription of 10 years.(11) The prescription runs according to the universal and common law;(12) however, in the delict perpetrated with a minor by a cleric, the prescription begins to run from the day when the minor has completed the 18th year of age.
As is Rome's usual manner, nothing is simply stated or clear. But these sentences state that secrecy is to be extended for 10 years after the victim reaches the age of 18.
Ratzinger's letter to each of the bishops was to remind them that CRIMEN SOLLICITATIONIS was still in effect.
Note paragraphs 11, 13 and 14a.
Here's a story by John Allen, CNN Vatican correspondent and Ratzinger's hand-picked biographer/apologist...
The document was itself to be kept secret. Instructions on Page One direct that it be stored in the secret archives of each diocese, and that it not be published or commented upon. Msgr. Thomas Green, canon law expert at The Catholic University of America, told NCR Aug. 4 that unlike most church legislation, Crimen Sollicitationis was never published in the official Vatican bulletin Acta Apostolicae Sedis. The document recently came to light because it was referenced in a footnote to a May 18, 2002, letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation, to the bishops of the world regarding new procedures for sex abuse cases...... Paragraph 11 of the document stipulates that such cases are covered by the "secret of the Holy Office," today known as pontifical secrecy, the strictest form of secrecy in church law. Excommunication is prescribed for anyone who violates this secrecy.
The part of the story by Allen saying it's possible some bishops weren't even aware of the letter is hilarious, but typical of Rome's inept defense of the indefensible. I'm sure lots of bishops ignore letters from the Chief Inquisitor marked "SECRET" all the time.
Second, that statement says nothing about secrecy. It says that running parallel to civil law, the prescription (statute of limitations), for jurisdiction by the CDF runs out after 10 years. And breaking the seal of the confessional is grounds for excommunication.
I've got to go to bed, but I really am not reading this the same way, and no, it's not wishful thinking. I saw an old family friend's husband rather bewildered last year when a grade school classmate of his was removed from public ministry with full media coverage due to solicitation of a minor (girl) over the internet. It was not in a confessional, so it was not subject to secrecy. When you see it happen, the whole idea of "must keep it secret for ten years" is kind of ridiculous.
Correct. There is also something very wrong in Las Vegas, Newark, Dallas, Paris, Hong Kong, Cedar Rapids, in my house and in yours; it's called sin. Humans sin, it's a result of our fallen nature, it's also the reason for Easter. We are all at fault of "not Thy will but my will be done" to some extent and as I have been told by my separated brethren, all sin is the same; especially when the subject of venial and mortal sin comes up.
The father of lies, the murder form the start has his influence on us all to some extent be we priest, teacher, mother or anonymous internet poster hiding behind a screen name. No one, not one Catholic is defending the sinful acts of any religious who indeed committed acts of abuse against children. It's obvious that some priests, some Bishops and others in the hierarchy for reasons ranging form malevolent to ignorance perpetuated the problem for many years.
Whats truly sad, leaving the horrors of abuse aside for the moment, is the fact that these sins can drive a wedge so firmly between they who profess Christ. That the sins of some are seen as an opportunity to attach other Christians must make the evil one dance for what passes for joy. When we tear at each other he wins.
Christ said that no one could snatch one of his own form His hand and yet some of us allow our selves to plucked rather easily form his loving embrace in order to indulge our passions. Christ commanded us to keep his commandments, He specifically exhorted us to "love one another as I have loved you". When we keep His commandments, when we are in Christ, we are carrying Him to the people.
Ask you self, truly, am I bearing Christ in my inquiry into the Churches handling of some abuse cases or am I indulging in a passion that glorifies something other than Christ? Is this the best way to help the abused and, as we should, the sinful abuser? Are you praying that the sinner repents or are you praying it (the Church) all burns?
I pray for you, speciffically, and several others who habitually attack the Church because it seems to be an unhealthy, spiritually speaking, indulgence. When Paul told us that kindness to our enemy's was like heaping coals on their heads, he was not urging us to inflict pain but implying that our love and kindness would have a purifying effect like the live coal the seraphim used to purify Isaiah's lips.
Thank you.
It seems like more and more we’re playing into his hands when we should be resting in His hands. We’re in for a rough ride, all of us: Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox.
I agree. I have felt this for some time.
It's really fascinating that some Roman Catholic apologists are more concerned about my motives than the motives of pedophile priests.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck" -- 1 Timothy 1:17-19"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
As far as secrecy being imposed for 10 years after the victim reaches the age of 18, that is what the letter said.
"It must be noted that the criminal action on delicts reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is extinguished by a prescription of 10 years.(11) The prescription runs according to the universal and common law;(12) however, in the delict perpetrated with a minor by a cleric, the prescription begins to run from the day when the minor has completed the 18th year of age."
Secrecy runs out after 10 years unless the victim is a minor, in which case the secrecy requirement is lifted 10 years after the victim has reached the age of 18.
If this secrecy is breached by the victim, he faces excommunication.
And some people wonder why there's a lag time between these crimes and the reporting of the these crimes. Rome set it up this way. Thus, the very real accusations of obstruction of justice.
So there are a “handful” of criminals known and still at large within the catholic church....worse still overseeing their churches as possibly bishops?
Why is it that doesn't bother you so much...it sure does me! One alone would do so...why? Because if he is a pedophile or and homosexual and there is any reasons to believe possible they are so the least is they should be sent to an island until charges are made or not.
Your motives are self evident every time you climb on a soap box of sin to decree your grace -as I succintly pointed out in the now deleted post...
I believe you make a very good and reasonable case for avoiding publicity on behalf of both parties in some circumstances providing that the Church authorities take reasonable measures to prevent such behavior in the future.
Significantly, the revolt of the Bishops telling the people to call the police came after the church had set up a hot-line in Germany to report misconduct by the clergy. This hot-line received 2,900 calls in a couple of days and was yet another attempt to cover up the reality of the situation making for even a worse mess than they already had.
Their action was obviously out of frustration at the ineptness of the Vatican and the special circumstances in Germany, which is not a Catholic country and the natural distrust of all religions in most of Europe. Germans can volunteer to pay a religious tax by indicating their choice of affiliation or none at all and have the government withhold that amount and give it to the specified church organization.
So many people have now changed their affiliation or declared none at all that a very good idea can be obtained as to how much the German church has been hurt by this fetish of secrecy, bumbling ineptitude and obvious indifference to the victims of religious predators. It is my belief that from a practical point of view they could not put up with further denials, obfuscation and frankly horrendous PR disasters from Vatican spokesmen and others.
It is noteworthy that several days later the Vatican has now followed the lead of the Germans. As I noted in another post at last some common sense has seeped into the Vatican, albeit by getting out of the way and abdicating any pretence of leadership.
“we now understand that according to the Vatican rules and regulations and reiterated by Ratzinger in his job as Chief Inquisitor, a victim may not go public with his accusation against a priest until 10 years after he reaches the age of 18, under penalty of excommunication.”
Did you even make an attempt to verify that your statement was true? Any attempt at all?
The document in question reads, “It must be noted that the criminal action on delicts reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is extinguished by a prescription of 10 years.(11) The prescription runs according to the universal and common law;(12) however, in the delict perpetrated with a minor by a cleric, the prescription begins to run from the day when the minor has completed the 18th year of age.”
Which means this: “The enforcement power of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith normally expires if no action is taken within ten years following the prohibited act. However, if the “delict” [offense] involves a minor, the 10-year statute of limitations begins to run on the victim’s 18th birthday and not from the date of the act. (In legalese, the statute of limitations would be “tolled” until the victim turned 18.)”
The minor victim is not required to remain silent—not for ten years, or ten days, or ten seconds. On the contrary, he is given a longer period during which he may come forward. This document orders an *extension* that benefits the victim, not an order to remain silent.
How could you possibly have believed such a thing as you alleged? Did you really? How did you come to be so completely consumed with hatred for the Church?
It bothers me plenty, because there are other issues at stake, in addition to the abuse which is a symptom of a larger issue. The difference is, I accept that all I can do about it is pray as things work like they work in the church. It's not like a global conglomerate with a CEO and efficient firing proceedings with endless deep pockets. This isn't simply about crime, but far more deep-seated issues of heresy, sacrilege, the office of the priesthood, and on and on. Yes, victims deserve justice, but a multitude of different considerations must be made while it is being served.
Thank you.
I’m not surprised. A lot of the people on this board are having a field day with this stuff. From so called fellow Christian’s as well. Nothing says “love one another” like enjoying a one sided attack by the liberal media against a Church you don’t happen to belong to.
Extremely sad.
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