Yes “former,” after the child pornography charges. It is difficult even for the Catholic church to cover up after criminal charges like that.
There are Bishops in Germany that are encouraging anyone with a complaint go to the civil authorities. Implying that they should not trust the church authorities.
The church had set up a hotline for sexual complaints and received 2,900 calls within two and half days. Now that does not mean 2,900 complaints of individual priests, as some were call backs and others were about the same priest, and no doubt quite a few were venting.
EVEN the Catholic Church? The great majority of the charges made are very hold and brought against the local butcher would be thrown out of court. Statutes of limitations are there for a reason, which is the respect for the principle that in order to protect the innocent, the guilty must sometimes go free. BTW, your presumption that the civil authorities are so eager to prosecute child molesters flies in face of the evidence. It is as prevalent as prostitution in our society, as sodomy among sheepherders, as adultery among the married but the dockets are not bursting with cases like this. On the contrary, the police would be overwhelmed if they had actually to enforce the public morals. Thy cannot even get habitual drunks off the roads.
Wow, with logic like that you shouldn't be talking about anyone else's "disconnect from reality".
If a civil crime has been committed, you go to the civil authorities. If a canonical crime has been committed, you go to the church authorities. If an act is a crime in both legal frameworks, you go to both. The police can put a man in jail; the church cannot. The church can remove a man from the priesthood; the police cannot.
No "implications" required.
“There are Bishops in Germany that are encouraging anyone with a complaint go to the civil authorities. Implying that they should not trust the church authorities.”
in true abuse cases,(i.e. if children were involved) this should have been done.
Alas, most of the cases are gay priests feeling up teenaged boys, and the boys don’t want to be exposed to the public as gay, or as making accusations against that nice popular priest...