Vatican Sex Abuse Case
12. January, 2007According to this article, from an AP writer at Kentucky.com, a judge has allowed a lawsuit to go forward, charging that the the Vatican is responsible for negligence concerning the conduct of pedophile priests. The key to this case will be in establishing that the priests involved acted as employees of the Vatican. Although the case for negligence in failure to warn the public of the danger represented by these priests will be allowed to go forward, charges that the Vatican failed to provide safe care for the children involved, and charges that the Vatican was involved in a cover-up were dismissed. Attorneys on both sides of this case are considering these dismissals as good things.
With this issue, my feelings are pretty straight-forward. Pedophiles, regardless of their religious affiliations, should be locked up and kept away from children at all costs. If pedophilia is a sickness, then let pedophiles come out of lock-up after a cure has been found and proven effective. Until then, they need to be locked up. Catholic priests who defile the sanctity of a child’s innocence should be no exception to this…if anything, I think a religious leader who engages in this kind of behavior should be held to even harsher standards.
The Vatican doesn’t have a policy telling its priests to go out and molest children. Therefore, I think it would be hard to prove, on a legal basis, that the Vatican can be held directly responsible for the molestation of children by its priests. However, it seems likely that the Vatican was aware of this kind of behavior…it’s been going on long enough that, even before the sex abuse cases started coming out in the media, jokes about Catholic priests and children weren’t uncommon. I understand that the Church has an established, religious belief in the confession and that people can be forgiven for their transgressions…I can understand where this might have played some part in the lack of communication from the Church about the dangers posed by some of its priests, for its failure to act in any way other than to play the shell game with moving pedophile priests to different churches. However, the logic is undeniable that to allow a wrong to take place is to be a part of it. By its failure to act in a meaningful way, by its failure to protect its flock, I believe the Vatican has played a direct role in this problem…it may not have done so in a way the courts might uphold, but it’s done so nonetheless.
As such, I think the Vatican – rather than trying to flex its political and financial muscle in the courts – needs to accept responsibility for its negligence. I believe that what the Vatican should be doing right now is opening up its records, sharing with the public everything it knows about these cases, trying to repair what damage it can to those whose lives have been damaged through all of this, and then demonstrate publicly and with full transparency it’s steps to prevent further molestation by its priests. I am glad to see that this case will be going forward, and I hope not just for the plaintiffs, but also for the Church itself, that Vatican negligence will be established.
The Vatican doesn’t have a policy telling its priests to go out and molest children.
But do they have a policy NOT to molest children?
If the courts (US or otherwise) hold the Vatican responsible, doesn’t that cross the line dividing church and state? Ultimately it comes down to this: who is responsible for punishing the rapists the state or the church?
Nio, thank you for your comment :-)
I don’t think separation of Church and State is being violated here – the concept was never intended to hold clergy above or even outside of the law (excepting, of course, tax laws). With that in mind, should the Vatican need a policy against pedophilia, outside of the prohibitions set in the Bible against pornographers, fornication out of wedlock; along with the charge of sacrilege by violating the vow of chastity (made when a priest receives the Sacrament of Orders), or by violating the criminal law codes to which they are still subject?
I think you ask a really good question: who is responsible for punishing pedophiles? Government or Church? Why not both?
An interesting approach to the problem. I do think it is shameful that the Church so often tries to cover up or brush off charges against its pedophiliac priests and the Vatican is certainly morally responsible, being that the guilty parties are spreading its Gospel message and represent the interests of the Vatican. I don’t know that an employer can be held culpable for an employee sexually assaulting a child, but even having the Church cooperate with authorities to expunge the guilty from its ranks would be a vast improvement over what we’ve seen so far.
My son is the stepson to one of the plaintiffs in this case. Though I think the Catholic Church had the responsibility to report the abusers to the authorities, I also think that the parents of the children had the responsibility to turn it over to the authorities as well. The plaintiff in the case has already received a large financial settlement from the Archdiocese of Louisville. The fact that he is going after the Vatican makes me think it is only about pure Greed. He seems to enjoy playing the victim in front of the press, but should not be throwing so many stones with his personal background. He has been alledged to have been guilty of some the the same behaviors exhibited by his abuser. Hopefully, the Vatican expose some information on this man to show that there are some true victims in this crisis and some opportunists.
Hrafnkell, J, thank you for your comments!
Hrafnkell, I’m also very curious to see how the argument of priests being employees of the Vatican will work out, as I tend to agree with you that they are working for the Vatican. Under normal circumstances, I would also question whether or not an employer could be held accountable for the actions of its employees in such a situation…but if this is taking place on Church property, or if the priests molested the children at a Church function of some sort….?
J, I certainly didn’t expect to have the benefit of comments in here from someone who is actually close to this case! Your reminder about people trying to milk these kinds of things is a point well-taken…and I’m glad it seems we both agree that the Vatican being more open about what’s going on would be good not just for everyone else, but for the Vatican as well.
If your son’s stepfather’s alleged behavior turns out to be proven, I’m sure you are of course aware that there is a higher tendency for people molested as children to engage in the same behavior in their adult years – an Mark Foley seems to have used this effectively to draw media heat off of himself last year. My opinion on this is that, even with the psychological damage that molestation might cause, having been abused as a child does not rob an adult of their ability to make choices. This goes back to what I’d said before about my belief that pedophiles need to be locked up…once someone makes the choice to molest a child, regardless of the reasons behind it, they need to be kept away from society. That’s just my two cents-worth, anyway. I’m curious, your son’s stepfather…did he by any chance donate any of his settlement money to organizations that try to prevent this kind of abuse?
Bernulf, you make an excellent point with regards to the abuse taking place on Church property. I would certainly think if, say a MacDonalds manager abused a child on the premises that MacDonalds itself would be held accountable. In the end, one of the first things you learn in management is that you are responsible for everything that goes on in your shift. The Pope is as high as you can get in management, and he is in the end responsible for everything that goes on in the Catholic Church, and beneath him, the Cardinals and Archbishops share responsibility for their own areas of responsibility.
European history is peppered with monarchs who tried to hold the pope responsible and/or influence him. If they haven’t been successful over the last 2000 years, how is the American government going to hold it responsible?
It would seem to me the best way to “influence” the Church is to do so through it’s landholdings. But confiscating property isn’t the answer either. After all, the French tried to do that and we’re too successful.
Ultimately, God will hold the pedofiles and their enablers responsible. I know that isn’t much consolation in *this* lifetime, but quite honestly, I don’t think there is much the US government, or any government, can do. To punish the church too much will create a martyr, or rather, more of a martyr, and not to do anything will cause anger at the state.
It’s a suck-suck situation.
Hrafnkell, it’s the responsibility factor that causes me to think that the Vatican must get more involved in this matter. The Vatican considers itself the ultimate Christian authority on Earth, this implies also a sense of ultimate responsibility. When the Vatican doesn’t offer a transparent plan of action, and instead tries to fight off victims in court, it makes me wonder if the Vatican actually considers itself to have any responsibility in this matter. Logically, if the Vatican proves it doesn’t have ultimate responsibility, then its claim to ultimate authority is also weakened. That’s why I don’t understand the Vatican’s position in this matter. I would think that the Vatican would be making every effort, at the most public level, to look after the victims and demonstrate what steps are being taken to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future. Even with the tendency J pointed out, that there are going to be people who will ultimately try to take advantage of this situation, the surest way for the Vatican to protect its interests would seem to be to open up and demonstrate its actions to solve its problems.
Nio, there are tools the US government has at its disposal to make just that effect…and the judge’s decision to allow the case to proceed is one of those tools. If the Vatican is actually found in this case to bear legal responsibility, then it will be on the Vatican to honor the findings of the court…if it doesn’t, then the government has the ability to take into review the diplomatic status and immunities enjoyed by Vatican officials in the US. I don’t think the government would want to be seen snatching land from the Vatican…but I also don’t think the Vatican would want to get dragged by the US before the UN or World Court. Like I said, I think allowing this case to continue could prove to be a very effective tool in getting the Vatican to do what it has thus far failed to do.
As you pointed out, it’s a bad situation all around…starting with the people whose lives have been damaged by abusive priests, and ending with the people who are going to have to figure out how to deal with it all.
Psycho therapists are by law required to inform on a patient if they are a danger to self or others. To say I am a clergyman and not responsible to society but I must protect a predator on the offhand belief that I can still keep him a member of my religion and pander any egostical guilt feeling the criminal has on the off chance he might stop. That is criminal naivete and stupidity to the hilt. Predators confess to priests because they want someone to know and relive the crime. They count on the sanctity of the confessional. If priests were taught less about the infallibility of the church and it parctices and more about human nature they may become of use to some people.
Sopka, thank you for your comment!
I like your comparison of responsibilities between clergy and therapists – and I think your statement about how the Church should focus less on its infallibility, and more on human nature, is right on target :-)