Catholic church takes legal stand siding with child predators
I guess the Catholic church still has a thing for people who use children as sexual prey: it is fighting to give those people more legal protection. I guess they believe this is the answer to "What would Jesus do?" and I’m sure that in their view Jesus (God) wants them to go to great lengths to protect the wealth of the church, because we know that He valued wealth above all things.
An editorial in the NY Times:
The Catholic Church is working against the interests of child abuse victims in state legislatures around the country. In recent weeks, lobbying by the church has blocked measures in Wisconsin, Arizona and Connecticut intended to widen the legal window for victims to file lawsuits against hidden predators.
We urge the New York State Legislature to rise above intense lobbying by the New York State Catholic Conference and Orthodox Jewish officials and pass the overdue Child Victims Act. Like a similar measure enacted in 2003 by California, it would create a one-time, one-year suspension of the statute of limitations for bringing civil lawsuits over the sexual abuse of children.
Once that window closes, people alleging abuse would have until age 28 to bring a claim. Current law sets the limit at 23 in most circumstances.
The measure recognizes that it typically takes many years before victims are ready to come forward. The measure also recognizes the Catholic Church’s history of intimidating victims and burying abuses in church files, creating a shroud of secrecy that extended in many cases until victims were in their 30s or older, well beyond existing time limits for prosecutions or civil lawsuits.
An earlier version of the bill passed the Assembly in 2006, 2007 and 2008, but the Senate, then under Republican control, refused to consider it. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver expresses strong support for the latest bill, amended to cover abuses by both religious and non- religious entities. But he is insistent that the Senate act first before requiring his members to cast another politically sensitive vote on the issue.
The Senate Codes Committee is set to consider the measure by mid-June. The committee’s chairman, Eric Schneiderman, Democrat of Manhattan, should work to ensure passage of the bill, which has safeguards against the filing of bogus claims.
The Catholic Church fears a wave of costly settlements and damage awards like those that followed California’s temporary lifting of the statute of limitations several years ago. Those concerns, and the difficulty of trying to judge decades-old accusations, are outweighed by the need to afford victims a measure of justice, the demands of public safety, and the injustice of rewarding any group for covering up sexual abuse of children.
The Catholic church has strayed far, far away from the teachings of Jesus, hasn’t it?
You bet they have …!
Jesus….has become a brand and is marketed as such. The brand offers “features and benefits” a “feel good about yourself product” and entrance to what we all want “Redemption and eternal life”
nick
16 May 2010 at 11:25 am
Still, it’s very odd to see an organization that putatively worships Jesus deciding that the most important thing is to protect their wealth. I think Jesus would not approve, based on his very negative comments about wealth. (He also had some strong remarks about the ostentatiously religious.)
LeisureGuy
16 May 2010 at 12:53 pm
Letter to NY State Senators:
May 12, 2010
Dear Senator:
I am writing this letter to enlist your support for the Child Victims Sex Abuse Bill. There are two key issues related to this bill; the Victims and the Catholic Church. As a Victim of clergy sexual abuse, the following words represent my struggle with the sexual abuse that occurred over thirty-five years ago:
The Darkness
A little boy,
whose innocence lay
in the Darkness
between the covers
on a living room davenport
next to a trusted clergy…
In a moments
graceless touch,
a wind gust
blew out
the light of his soul
and scattered the discarded
ashes of his heart.
At 50,
it is the shame
and it is a shame
to be that
damaged little boy
at 10.
C.J. Hensel
With regard to the Catholic Church, it has been eight years since the issue of clergy sex abuse first broke into the public consciousness. In these eight years, the Catholic Church has failed to develop and implement an effective program to protect innocent children from pedophile priests. In addition, the Church has made virtually no effort to proactively reach out to victims to assist them in any way to heal from the clergy sex abuse.
It is well known that changing a behavior is almost always a result of consequences. So, it is abundantly clear that the only way to change the behavior of the Catholic Church is money. When they understand that failure to protect innocent children and ignoring the suffering of Victims will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, will we then see the compassion and attention that we would expect from a Christian institution.
If I can add any value to the dialogue or if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via phone or e-mail. Thank you in advance for your considerate attention for all of us affected by this horrible tragedy.
With Sincerest Gratitude,
Chares J. Hensel
charlie h.
16 May 2010 at 9:03 pm