Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal: 7 Excerpts From the Grand Jury Report
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this,” begins the nearly 900-page report released Tuesday by a grand jury that spent two years investigating reports of sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church over a period of 70 years.
The report , which says there were more than 1,000 identifiable victims and perhaps thousands more, is the broadest examination yet by a government agency in the United States of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The grand jury members documented a wide variety of abuses by priests and others within the church, as well as creative ways of covering up or denying accusations.
Those cases include a priest who the grand jury says raped a 7-year-old girl while visiting her in the hospital after she got her tonsils out. Another priest made a 9-year-old boy give him oral sex, “then rinsed out the boy’s mouth with holy water to purify him.”
The grand jury used strong language to hold leaders of the church accountable for enabling and protecting the abusers. Church leaders frequently protected and sympathized with the abusers, not their victims, the report states.
The grand jury reported that it had uncovered a ring of predatory priests in the Pittsburgh diocese who “shared intelligence or information regarding victims,” created pornography using the victims, and exchanged victims among themselves. “This group of priests used whips, violence and sadism in raping their victims,” the report states.
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The pope and his bishops are officially considered "vicars and ambassadors of Christ"on Earth, a status that accords them special authority and privilege. A notable feature of the Pennsylvania grand jury investigation, however, was the extent to which it found that the bishops in each diocese were implicated in the crimes.
"The abuse was occurring not only by its own people, but on its own property," the grand jury reported. "Children were raped in places of worship, in schools, and in diocesan owned vehicles, and were groomed through diocesan programs and retreats. The bishops weren't just aware of what was going on; they were immersed in it. And they went to great lengths to keep it secret. (Link)
The report, which says there were more than 1,000 identifiable victims and perhaps thousands more, is the broadest examination yet by a government agency in the United States of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The grand jury members documented a wide variety of abuses by priests and others within the church, as well as creative ways of covering up or denying accusations.
Anyone who has paid attention to this issue over the last 30 years would know that the Vatican and local RCC hierarchy were actively involved in covering up these crimes (really since the Council of Elvira in 306 AD). But what was interesting about this report is not the extent of the criminal conspiracy to cover up the crimes after the fact or to shuffle known pedophiles off to unsuspecting communities, but that there was actually a conspiracy to rape kids with coordination between pedophile priests and the bishops and cardinals who supervised them.
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And not even once did the RCC hierarchy ever call the cops.
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Note this from the NBC op-ed:
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That's the same "punishment" for raping a kid which was given by the Council of Elvira. Seems the ethics of the RCC haven't evolved much since then.
Exactly!
First, excommunicate every pedophile priest involved and those who covered it up if they are still alive. Then remove the tax exempt status for every church that covered this up.
The problem is, you even have the 'Vicar of Christ' himself, the Pope that challenges these findings and calls them untrue. This sickness seems to go all the way to the top and the people who want to protect the church at all costs, including crushing the victims.
I believe in God, I do not believe that these people represent God or God's wishes. If the RCC wants to stay in business, they need to address this in a straight-forward manner instead of blaming and shaming the victims.
I'd prefer to see the RCC proscuted under the RICO statute as an organized crime ring, but the fact that they are a sovereign nation might make that impossible. To watch Priests, Bishops, and Cardinals weigh in on LGBT rights, birth control, and abortion and claim a moral authority to do so is both laughable and insulting.
Better yet just name them, and if they can be prosecuted do that too. And prosecute the diocese and the RCC for their criminal conspiracy.
Just read this also......I like it:
wow... that would definitely change things for many victims !
Surprise, surprise.......the diocese and the US Council of Catholic Bishops oppose the extension of the statute of limitations.