Just a little procedural snafu...
It never seems to end. Conferences and protocols and widespread publicity and asset sales and more lawsuits than Enron and the Ford Pinto combined, and still the Catholic Church doesn't get it. When I first saw this headline:
Cardinal: Process 'failed' in abuse case
I thought someone beyond the local parishoners had finally recognized the problem. Maybe the tide of abuse could be stemmed and the church could admit it's institutional failings and move on.
But, of course, I'm an idiot. After a convoluted, half- hearted mea culpa regarding a priest who was transferred and left to coach the boys basketball team after an abuse allegation, Cardinal Frances George of Chicago got to the heart of the matter. Get ready for it, feel it coming.
The problem, beyond a little procedural glitch in the church, is that the foolish victims chose to report the matter to law enforcement instead of the church. The key quote:
"Sometimes some of the victims groups say, `Don't go to the archdiocese,'" he said. "Well, here's a case where they didn't and it became very difficult for us to respond to anything. It became very difficult for us to help the victim. We haven't been able to so far."
Yes, you foolish victims. Don't go to the proper authorities to report your rape. Take it to the very people who allowed it to happen and let them decide if it merits a further looksy. Those civil authorities can only complicate matters.
If I had to guess, I suspect most rank and file priests are just what you would think them to be: ministers to their communities with all the right intentions and mostly the right actions. And, for some reason, I suspect that they would side with the victims and suggest an alternative action if they could. But the Catholic Church has never been one to encourage dissent, or, outside of the Jesuits, even slightly disparate thinking.
And the fact is that, in too many cases, the good works of the priests are overshadowed by just plain rotten management. Leave the hypocrisy aside - the church needs a management shakeup.
Cardinal: Process 'failed' in abuse case
I thought someone beyond the local parishoners had finally recognized the problem. Maybe the tide of abuse could be stemmed and the church could admit it's institutional failings and move on.
But, of course, I'm an idiot. After a convoluted, half- hearted mea culpa regarding a priest who was transferred and left to coach the boys basketball team after an abuse allegation, Cardinal Frances George of Chicago got to the heart of the matter. Get ready for it, feel it coming.
The problem, beyond a little procedural glitch in the church, is that the foolish victims chose to report the matter to law enforcement instead of the church. The key quote:
"Sometimes some of the victims groups say, `Don't go to the archdiocese,'" he said. "Well, here's a case where they didn't and it became very difficult for us to respond to anything. It became very difficult for us to help the victim. We haven't been able to so far."
Yes, you foolish victims. Don't go to the proper authorities to report your rape. Take it to the very people who allowed it to happen and let them decide if it merits a further looksy. Those civil authorities can only complicate matters.
If I had to guess, I suspect most rank and file priests are just what you would think them to be: ministers to their communities with all the right intentions and mostly the right actions. And, for some reason, I suspect that they would side with the victims and suggest an alternative action if they could. But the Catholic Church has never been one to encourage dissent, or, outside of the Jesuits, even slightly disparate thinking.
And the fact is that, in too many cases, the good works of the priests are overshadowed by just plain rotten management. Leave the hypocrisy aside - the church needs a management shakeup.
posted by John at 8:30 PM
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