I challenge anyone to find a single example of a Catholic Bishop (or other "leader") who intentionally re-assigned a pedophile priest with the expectation that more children would be victimized.
In short, it never happened. Not once.
As a near-70 year old Catholic with 16 years of Catholic education, I will explain how it worked.
A complaint was lodged against a priest. The complaint was brought to the local bishop. The accused priest was confronted by the Bishop. One of two things happened. Either the priest swore to God that he did nothing wrong and the little bastard was out to get him for some imaginary slight, or the priest admitted what he did. In this second case, the Bishop would "hear the priest's confession," the end result of which was that the Priest swore never to do it again, so help him Gawd.
In case #1, the Bishop had to decide whether to believe a PRIEST(!) or little low-life accuser. Not much problem there. The solution was to re-assign the priest and tell him to watch what kinds of kids he associates with in the future. Then call the parents and tell them to straighten out their lying little kid.
In case #2, the Bishop MUST believe that the problem is solved. The priest confessed his sins and promised to amend his ways. The absolution of confession bestowed the Grace of God on the offending priest, so OF COURSE he was going to...sin no more. The Bishop calls in the victim(s) and their parents, tells them the priest has. been punished, and offers to provide counseling or whatever else the kid might need, and that's pretty much the end of it. The Bishop never imagined that more kids would be victimized in the future. The problem had been dealt with.
In hindsight, it is easy to say that the Bishop was naive, and should have immediately contacted The Authorities, but few people in the 50's, 60's, and even into the 70's knew how damaging this behavior was, or how persistent it is in those who victimize children in this way. To call in the police would be a serious public scandal affecting both the parish and the diocese, and what would be the benefit of that, when THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN SOLVED?
So what am I saying? That the Bishops were blameless? Hardly. But given what they knew and what they believed, and what they were told by the pedophile priests, the Bishops believed in good faith that they were dealing with the problem in a responsible way. Had they known that this behavior almost never stops until the perpetrators die or are totally removed from potential victims, they never would have handled these cases the way they did.
Their level of negligence in many cases rises to a criminal level, but you will not find any intentional wrongful acts here. It was a failure of judgment.
In short, it never happened. Not once.
As a near-70 year old Catholic with 16 years of Catholic education, I will explain how it worked.
A complaint was lodged against a priest. The complaint was brought to the local bishop. The accused priest was confronted by the Bishop. One of two things happened. Either the priest swore to God that he did nothing wrong and the little bastard was out to get him for some imaginary slight, or the priest admitted what he did. In this second case, the Bishop would "hear the priest's confession," the end result of which was that the Priest swore never to do it again, so help him Gawd.
In case #1, the Bishop had to decide whether to believe a PRIEST(!) or little low-life accuser. Not much problem there. The solution was to re-assign the priest and tell him to watch what kinds of kids he associates with in the future. Then call the parents and tell them to straighten out their lying little kid.
In case #2, the Bishop MUST believe that the problem is solved. The priest confessed his sins and promised to amend his ways. The absolution of confession bestowed the Grace of God on the offending priest, so OF COURSE he was going to...sin no more. The Bishop calls in the victim(s) and their parents, tells them the priest has. been punished, and offers to provide counseling or whatever else the kid might need, and that's pretty much the end of it. The Bishop never imagined that more kids would be victimized in the future. The problem had been dealt with.
In hindsight, it is easy to say that the Bishop was naive, and should have immediately contacted The Authorities, but few people in the 50's, 60's, and even into the 70's knew how damaging this behavior was, or how persistent it is in those who victimize children in this way. To call in the police would be a serious public scandal affecting both the parish and the diocese, and what would be the benefit of that, when THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN SOLVED?
So what am I saying? That the Bishops were blameless? Hardly. But given what they knew and what they believed, and what they were told by the pedophile priests, the Bishops believed in good faith that they were dealing with the problem in a responsible way. Had they known that this behavior almost never stops until the perpetrators die or are totally removed from potential victims, they never would have handled these cases the way they did.
Their level of negligence in many cases rises to a criminal level, but you will not find any intentional wrongful acts here. It was a failure of judgment.