200 - Just the Tip of the Iceberg!

It always seemed a bad idea to me for Catholic church to force Catholic Priests to practice 'Unnatural Practices'!

By Gerard | March 8, 2010 11:03 AM

This sends a message to those who protected pedophiles that they too are guilty. A friend was molested by a Harvard University coach many years ago. The pedophile also worked at a top-end private lower school where he molested numerous children. Both schools knew of his activities from the 1960's but he was allowed to run wild. In 1987 he was arrested for raping his nephew and two other young boys, he did no jail time. Now he is working for a non-profit that deals with blind children. How nice to see the criminals have more rights than victims.

By Paul Martin | March 8, 2010 11:34 AM

Nice religious!

By Zombie | March 8, 2010 11:51 AM

It only takes a few to make the whole group look bad. Sad,to bad. Pedofiles are sexually selfish only thinking of there own sexual needs. The damage pedofiles do to the children terrible.

By Steve | March 8, 2010 3:13 PM

Why would Jan Waaijer from Hulp and Recht tip-toe around and sugar coat his statement 'Let it all come out now. A church which is mature and open to self-criticism can deal with this,' he told the paper.
It's not like that at all; it's a church that's Guilty, hides it sins, destoys children's lives and would keep mum if it thought it could get away with it. It wouldn't even be whispered in a confessional.

By AW | March 8, 2010 3:45 PM

Gerard, you are so very wrong...the Catholic Church does not force anybody to become a priest, all who apply know very well what is required, and no priest is forced, they accept and commit to celibacy among other things.

Celibacy is not unnatural, humans are capable of overcoming sexual instincts unlike other animals, or else we will be copulating on every street corner, and just claim it is "natural".
Even priests suffer human failings.

By AC | March 8, 2010 3:58 PM

Zombie...it is not the religion..is some CRIMINAL priests.

By kos | March 8, 2010 4:36 PM

At least these child molesters can take communion.

Child molestation: protected by the catholic church.
Being gay: condemned by the catholic church.

By Darren | March 8, 2010 5:24 PM

more like 20,000 or 200,000, Paul u need to make a noise about this, he must be punished and never work with kids ever

we need the death penalty for child rape

By adhd | March 8, 2010 6:17 PM

@Paul Martin: Publish his name and photo, let it be known who he is in hope to protect others; or is everyone who knows about him just referring to him without name and vague references?

I get so annoyed by people who talk about those criminals who never got convicted, but they are so sure that they did the crime; but for some reason they never want to reveal who that "dangerous" person is. Either speak up or never speak about it.

It is kind of like saying you know how to travel in time, but you can not speak about it.

By xen | March 8, 2010 11:22 PM

WHERE DOES THE BUCK STOP?

In a press release by the Holy See's Director Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ on March 9, 2010, "concerning cases of the sexual abuse of minors in ecclesiastical institutions," Lombardi parrots the Holy See's predictable responses to the church's widening problems of sexual abuse, particularly of minor children.

http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/a0_en.htm

The institutional Roman Catholic church has reacted to the continuing sexual abuse debacle neither rapidly nor decisively, contrary to what Lombardi states. The Vatican has attempted to distance itself from what has happened in country after country, first categorizing it as an "American problem," then as a "homosexual problem."

What was done by church leadership in the United States, for example, it was forced to do by the pressure of public opinion after records, files and correspondence were forced into the public venue in 2002 by Judge Constance M. Sweeney, a very brave, principled and grounded Catholic woman in Boston, Massachusetts.

The church's response continues to be re-active rather than pro-active while minimizing the systemic and endemic abuse of power and authority which has enabled and exacerbated it on the one hand while covering it up whenever and wherever possible on the other.

The "wide-ranging context" is that in countries from the United States, Canada, Australia and Ireland to Austria, the Netherlands and Germany church authorities have repeatedly and consistently disregarded its own moral and Canon laws as well as the existing laws of the countries' in which these horrific crimes against humanity occurred.

Lombardi does not mention nor does he admit to the well documented widespread cover-up of the sexual abuse of children by bishops and other church officials in many countries like the United States, that makes the church's sexual abuse problems particularly egregious. If church authorities had done the morally right thing initially how many children would have escaped being sexually abused by a particular priest?

When are people of good will going to say, enough!

When are state legislators going to change the laws so that justice can be pursued for the thousands upon thousands of victims of childhood sexual abuse who have been unable to access let alone obtain justice?

In most states and probably in most countries existing criminal as well as civil laws give more protection to sexual predators and their enablers then they do to victims of childhood sexual abuse - by anyone. This is deplorable and should not be.

The removal of all statutes of limitation in regard to the sexual abuse of children is the single, most effective way to hold predators and enabling institutions accountable before the law.

The state of Delaware in the United States is one of a very few states in the U.S. which has removed all criminal and civil statutes of limitation in regard to the sexual abuse of children - by anyone. It also legislated a two year civil window for previously time barred cases, again, by anyone. That window closed in July of 2009.

In a civil suit, unlike a criminal suit, the burden of proof that any sexual abuse took place is on the plaintiff. The burden is not on the accused individual or institution to prove innocence, at least not in the United States.

Every victim of childhood sexual abuse should have a right to the pursuit of justice at the very least!

If Delaware can do it other states and other countries should be able to do it and hold sexual predators and any enabling institutions responsible, especially those institutions which chose to ignore their own internal laws.

I was privileged to testify before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees in support of the 2007 Child Victims Law in Delaware.

No rules and no laws of any religious organization or denomination should be allowed to trump the laws of a civilized society where the protection of children is concerned.

The Roman Catholic Church should be held to the highest standard as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a Convention that by any objective standard it has grossly violated for decades.

Isn't it time to formalize those violations as the crimes against humanity they truly are?

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims' Advocate
New Castle, Delaware, USA
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com

By Sister Maureen Paul Turlish | March 10, 2010 11:12 PM

So there we are the " Catholic Church " hmmm priests very yucky old man brrr when I was a child they made me feel ichy....glad I got out when I was 20 years old. There is no perfect religion and never will be !!
So Mr Geert Wilders what do you say about the 1000 of sexual abused children haaaaaaaaa?? Constantly picking on islam sure it's also not the perfect religion but they don't do dirty stuff to there kids!!
My life is very happy without any religion !!!!!!

By Minnie | March 16, 2010 7:54 AM