DGS49
Diamond Member
The Pennsylvania State Legislature is figuratively patting itself on the back these days because it passed a law that will give victims of long-ago priestly sexual abuse the right to sue today, and still collect money damages.
Pennsylvania ends future child sex abuse charges time limits
My perspective may be slanted because I have been a Catholic in the pews for 70 years, and despite 12 years of Catholic parochial schooling, I never saw any evidence of abuse, but it seems to me that the public narrative on this issue is neither rational nor reasonable. Some facts?
There are no words sufficient to describe the INDIVIDUAL PRIESTS to committed these crimes. They intentionally went through years and years of screening, education, and training, apparently with the intention of using their religious positions and privileges to victimize (mainly) young boys, and they did everything possible to hide what they were doing from parents, teachers, pastors, bishops, and the law-enforcement community. When caught and confronted, they used Catholic beliefs against their superiors, claiming true remorse and promising NEVER TO ENGAGE IN THESE BEHAVIORS AGAIN. Then repeated them as long as they could get away with it. There is no punishment sufficient for these bastards.
And then you have the pastors and bishops. The ones who were involved are guilty of many things. Failing to take the abuse seriously enough. Failure to recognize the persistence of this behavior once it has manifested itself. Failure to recognize the seriousness of the harm on the victims.
But at the root of the problem at this level (pastors, Bishops), is the fact that they took Catholic teachings seriously. Catholics teach and believe that sin can be overcome with the grace of God. Catholics teach and believe that with a "good Act of Contrition," a person can "amend his life," forever. And when a Bishop, in the 50's, 60's, and 70's learned of these situations, met with the offending priests, heard their confessions, gave them absolution, and heard them promise never to do it again, they were convinced that the problem - at least with respect to that individual priest - was solved.
Which is why the priests were merely reassigned to another parish.
I submit that NO BISHOP EVER REASSIGNED A PRIEST WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, OR EVEN THE EXPECTATION, THAT THE CONDUCT WOULD CONTINUE. It was always with faith that the offending Priest had been transformed by the grace to God, and would not offend again.
Now we know that this belief was almost-criminally naive. With 20/20 hindsight, "we" say that the Bishops should have known that Catholic teachings and belief with respect to this particular sort of sin is all bullshit. And that is exactly what "we" are saying: The Bishops should have known that their religious beliefs, all based on Biblical teachings, were nonsense.
And now, in this enlightened age, "we" draw the following picture of "JUSTICE." (1) The Kids are victims whose injuries are permanent, for life. (2) Money damages are the best means that "society" can use to compensate for those damages. (3) Since the actual perpetrators are either dead, imprisoned, or totally impecunious, as are the involved Bishops, the source for these money damages must be The Church.
But what is "The Church," financially speaking? It is nothing more than the accumulated assets, money, and the insurance policies of the innocent almsgivers of the past hundred years.
So "justice" is the confiscation of the alms given to The Church by innocent almsgivers, to compensate victims (and their lawyers - 40% usually) of those priests who secretly exploited and abused the Church itself to commit their crimes. And the Pennsylvania legislature - bless their hearts - has made it easier for "justice" to take its toll on the innocent.
But don't let anyone tell you that Leftists are trying to kill organized religion. That would be paranoid.
Pennsylvania ends future child sex abuse charges time limits
My perspective may be slanted because I have been a Catholic in the pews for 70 years, and despite 12 years of Catholic parochial schooling, I never saw any evidence of abuse, but it seems to me that the public narrative on this issue is neither rational nor reasonable. Some facts?
There are no words sufficient to describe the INDIVIDUAL PRIESTS to committed these crimes. They intentionally went through years and years of screening, education, and training, apparently with the intention of using their religious positions and privileges to victimize (mainly) young boys, and they did everything possible to hide what they were doing from parents, teachers, pastors, bishops, and the law-enforcement community. When caught and confronted, they used Catholic beliefs against their superiors, claiming true remorse and promising NEVER TO ENGAGE IN THESE BEHAVIORS AGAIN. Then repeated them as long as they could get away with it. There is no punishment sufficient for these bastards.
And then you have the pastors and bishops. The ones who were involved are guilty of many things. Failing to take the abuse seriously enough. Failure to recognize the persistence of this behavior once it has manifested itself. Failure to recognize the seriousness of the harm on the victims.
But at the root of the problem at this level (pastors, Bishops), is the fact that they took Catholic teachings seriously. Catholics teach and believe that sin can be overcome with the grace of God. Catholics teach and believe that with a "good Act of Contrition," a person can "amend his life," forever. And when a Bishop, in the 50's, 60's, and 70's learned of these situations, met with the offending priests, heard their confessions, gave them absolution, and heard them promise never to do it again, they were convinced that the problem - at least with respect to that individual priest - was solved.
Which is why the priests were merely reassigned to another parish.
I submit that NO BISHOP EVER REASSIGNED A PRIEST WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, OR EVEN THE EXPECTATION, THAT THE CONDUCT WOULD CONTINUE. It was always with faith that the offending Priest had been transformed by the grace to God, and would not offend again.
Now we know that this belief was almost-criminally naive. With 20/20 hindsight, "we" say that the Bishops should have known that Catholic teachings and belief with respect to this particular sort of sin is all bullshit. And that is exactly what "we" are saying: The Bishops should have known that their religious beliefs, all based on Biblical teachings, were nonsense.
And now, in this enlightened age, "we" draw the following picture of "JUSTICE." (1) The Kids are victims whose injuries are permanent, for life. (2) Money damages are the best means that "society" can use to compensate for those damages. (3) Since the actual perpetrators are either dead, imprisoned, or totally impecunious, as are the involved Bishops, the source for these money damages must be The Church.
But what is "The Church," financially speaking? It is nothing more than the accumulated assets, money, and the insurance policies of the innocent almsgivers of the past hundred years.
So "justice" is the confiscation of the alms given to The Church by innocent almsgivers, to compensate victims (and their lawyers - 40% usually) of those priests who secretly exploited and abused the Church itself to commit their crimes. And the Pennsylvania legislature - bless their hearts - has made it easier for "justice" to take its toll on the innocent.
But don't let anyone tell you that Leftists are trying to kill organized religion. That would be paranoid.