Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn is reportedly threatening dire consequences for both legislators and the Church if New York lifts the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sex-abuse to sue. The one-year suspension will, according to the Bishop, bankrupt the Church and lead to social and political backlash for legislators.
The controversy in New York is filled with political intrigue, with some accusing Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez of cutting a deal with the Church to remove a meddlesome priest on a Brooklyn community group in exchange for his effort to stop the legislative effort to give victims an opportunity to sue.
Absent the change, victims have only five years after turning 18 to sue for abuse during their childhood. Current proposals would extend this to ten years, but the Church is most concerned with the proposed one-year grace period allowed to any victim.
The Bishop has suggested that, if forced to bear the cost of all of its abuse of children in the past, the Church would have to close parishes, suspend social programs, and risk bankruptcy. I am not sure what is more scary, but I would go with the notion that the potential scope of abused children is so high that the Church could not handle the costs.
For the full story, click here.
Lest you believe I am making this up, ask your parish priest what sort of punishment the Holy Church meted out to Boston Cardinal Bernard Law. You know the churchman who admitted he protected priests who engaged in raping children. Here’s a hint: he’s living in Rome at the Vatican in much nicer accommodations that the Church afforded Galileo.
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mespo,
I was just thinking about Budddha’s Bake Sale fund raiser, but then
I thought about the popular Church Supper’s we have in New England.
Do you think Bernie’s even thought about Boston Baked Beans or Boston Brown Bread since he’s been playin’ the Palace? Somehow I doubt it.
Indentured:
“The entire business is very sad because the RCC does do some good works.”
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No one is advocating the death penalty for the Church just what they require of other sinners: admission of guilt, remorse, and restitution. BTW the New Mexico parish is not removed from the public just very remote. If I was cynical I’d also add that it is comprised of poor people who are reluctant to question the wisdom of the Church.
mespo727272
is the New Mexico diocese a monastery or convent away from the public? Dont they have orders that require silence and other such pious pursuits in locations out of the way and with limited access?
The only true way to get rid of this business is to let priests marry and do some sort or psychological profiling prior to entering the RCC seminary. And if a priest does do something they need to go to jail.
The entire business is very sad because the RCC does do some good works. It does have some dings in the chrome from some past bad acts but then so does Islam, the Jewish faith, Hinduism, and other religions.
Man is far from perfect as our institutions prove. Every man has good and bad aspects of his character as does every organization, one must look for and encourage the good and recognize and discourage the bad.
Indentured:
“why dosent the RCC remove these men and women when they commit these acts? They could send them to a convent or monestary and keep them away from the public.”
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They tried that by sending them to the New Mexico diocese. It resulted in the highest incidence of child sexual abuse being exported out west.
why dosent the RCC remove these men and women when they commit these acts? They could send them to a convent or monestary and keep them away from the public.
Put them to good use brewing beer, pass that damn recipe from the Trappists in Belgium around so the rest of us can have some good bier.
LeVerdad:
“The truth of the matter is that Trial lawyers across the country are pushing for this bill because they get a 33% cut of the millions that “victims” receive.”
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Actually, we charge a third plus the costs just to be clear. I fail to see why that matters but maybe in your demagogical world it does to some. My point is that you hate both the victims and their advocates because it threatens your strongly held beliefs that somehow the Church was innocent of this criminal conspiracy. It wasn’t — as deposition after settlement after mea culpa has proven to those not blinded by the faith. And it wasn’t limited to the Country either — ask the Irish. My problem with folks like you is that you would damn to Hell anyone else who engaged in this type of behavior based on verse after verse of Christian holy text, but when it roosts at home, well, the victims are exaggerating or their lawyers are putting them up to it. Hypocrisy is truly the world’s largest religion. Lest you believe I am making this up, ask your parish priest what sort of punishment the Holy Church meted out to Boston Cardinal Bernard Law. You know the churchman who admitted he protected priests who engaged in raping children. Here’s a hint: he’s living in Rome at the Vatican in much nicer accommodations that the Church afforded Galileo.
Joe G, the Catholic Church has 1/5th the number of heterosexual “pimps, rapists, and child pornographers” as you put it as the general population has.
wow, what are the chances that two seemingly unrelated people would have the same thoughts and express them in exactly the same words. That must make it twice as true
Right wing Trolls!!! now with twice the irrelevancy!!!
Isn’t putting a ring of pimps, rapists, and child-pornographers out of business a GOOD thing?
Jill, read this and be enlightened:
The Catholic Church’s official position on homosexuality can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2358. The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
:
:
Mistake number one was assuming once the Church followed 2358, that the gay community would abide by 2359.
Now the Church pays the financial penalty for that mistake.
Jill, you and your fake math are flakes.
The group most likely to be pedipohiles is married men. The church could have married heterosexual and homosexual priests and still have rampant child predators in its midst. Protection of the powerful instead of the powerless is the problem. As the pope still harbors pedophiles and their enablers I would count him and the cardinals accessories after/to the crime.
The truth of the matter is that Trial lawyers across the country are pushing for this bill because they get a 33% cut of the millions that “victims” receive. Don’t get me wrong, there is legitimacy to some of the abuse victim’s cases, but this one year window would allow anyone to sue going back forever. This would set a bad precendent, and is just wrong. Everyone should stop bashing the Catholic Church, whom have also done great work in neighborhoods across the country, and look into the reprocussions. And why are we only focussed on the Church. Majority of Child Abuse cases come from Public schools. Let’s scrutinize them. Let’s look at protestant chruchs and synogogues. We must stop the hateful bashing and come together to stop the abuse but go about it in a fair way to both the victims and to an institution who has helped millions throughout the centuries.
The Catholic Church’s official position on homosexuality can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2358. The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
;
;
Mistake number one was assuming once the Church followed 2358, that the “community” would abide by 2359. Now the Church pays the financial penalty for that mistake.
Nooooooooo….not the hat. They’ve set up the shell game of saying each parrish is independent. If that is true, why is it that the cardinals and the pope are able to move abusive priests from one parrish to the next, giving them fresh victims? The pope, even now shields molesters and their enablers in Rome. So if the pope can do that, then Rome’s assests by rights are up for the taking. They forfeited all right to say they cannot be involved in a parrish lawsuit by harboring and enabling molesting priests from those very parrishes. It really is telling that they know so many children have been harmed that the damages could bankrupt the church.
Decades ago the Catholic Church was urged to open it’s arms to those with minority status life styles.
Now they pay for it.
The sins of the fathers out weight the needs of the many…
Will the Pope have to sell his big gold hat?
“I am not sure what is more scary, but I would go with the notion that the potential scope of abused children is so high that the Church could not handle the costs.”
************
If that be the case, I would recommend a claims trust, as was set up in the AH Robbins Dalkon Shield/bankruptcy case, to handle the claims, and matrix the recoveries for the victims.
Awwwww, is the little priest playing poor as an excuse for covering up pedophilia?
Too
Damn
Bad.
Sell some of those Michaelanglo’s the Pope is squatting on if you need to raise the cash to cover your brethren’s crimes. Have a bake sale. However, I suggest the Fr. take a nice long look at the buildings, art and costumes used by the RCC and shut the Hell up about being too poor to pay judgments. No one believes it.