Pope defrocked 400 priests in 2 years
Source: Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children.
The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized.
While it's not clear why the numbers spiked in 2011, it could be because 2010 saw a new explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond.
The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting and was compiled to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_VATICAN_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-17-15-41-56
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)valerief
(53,235 posts)louis-t
(23,199 posts)Why no prosecutions by local authorities? And these 400 were defrocked for 'alleged' crimes. Glad to see at least they can't use the power of the priesthood anymore.
bobclark86
(1,415 posts)to arrest, try and convict priests in the United States... Oh, it doesn't.
Call your district attorney and ask them.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)guessing zero.
Nice deflection of the issue though. Who's side are you on anyways?
Ash_F
(5,861 posts)400...wow.
bobclark86
(1,415 posts)of prosecutors not prosecuting.
If this is happening in your area, call the fucking district attorney. Don't go on the Internet and bitch about the pope. Not his call who gets prosecuted.
Good.
When will they be prosecuted, sentenced and serve their time ?
I am going to take a guess here and say never.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)committed a felony in? Why aren't the civil authorities doing it if what you say is fact and none have been prosecuted?
You need to read my post slowly.
I asked a question.
I did not state a fact.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)It seems though civil authorities have been pretty lax on this issue although many of the molesters were convicted. Too many it seems settled and didn't do jail time and in some cases the victims refused to testify so a court couldn't convict.
gerogie2
(450 posts)The victim must be willing to testify in a court of law regarding the abuse. If the victim is a child then a parent may not allow it due to the possibility of trauma to the child in testifying. In many jurisdictions the child as an adult can still have the accused tried and convicted, so the abuser is not off the hook for many years.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)I doubt that accounts for all the sexual assault....even on a per year basis, that's awfully slow house cleaning.
Archae
(46,261 posts)Even money says the number is 40. At most.
Pope Rat the First covered up for kiddie molesters.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Abuse
During most of the 14 years that Bergoglio served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, rights advocates say, he did not take decisive action to protect children or act swiftly when molestation charges against Church clergy surfaced; nor did he extend apologies and compensation to the victims of abusive priests after their misconduct came to light.[319] Later, Argentina was among 25% of bishops conferences that did not reach the deadline for putting policies in place to deal with complaints and priests accused of abuse.[320][321]
Pope Francis told Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who leads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and is the Vatican official in charge of dealing with the crisis, to act decisively, protect minors, help victims of past abuse and introduce unspecified "necessary procedures" against perpetrators who should be punished.
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called for action instead of words.[322][323][324] Others, including Jeffrey Anderson, an attorney who fought many court cases on behalf of abuse victims, are hopeful that Francis will act to protect children.[320][325]
In October 2007, Bergoglio denounced the tolerance of child abuse, which he called "demographic terrorism".
He told a conference:[326]
Children are mistreated, and are not educated or fed. Many are made into prostitutes and exploited. And this happens here in Buenos Aires, in the great city of the south. Child prostitution is offered in some five star hotels: it is included in the entertainment menu, under the heading "Other".
In 2011, Bergoglio again condemned child trafficking and sex slavery in Buenos Aires:[276]
In this city, there are many girls who stop playing with dolls to enter the dump of a brothel because they were stolen, sold, betrayed ... In this city, women and girls are kidnapped, and they are subjected to use and abuse of their body; they are destroyed in their dignity. The flesh that Jesus assumed and died for is worth less than the flesh of a pet. A dog is cared for better than these slaves of ours, who are kicked, who are broken.
The Holy See under Francis failed to provide information about child sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church to a UN Committee, "The Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). [327]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
Apparently, this is happening now with reports prepared for the UN. I read on DU early on that he said he would have a zero tolerance policy and such priests would be turned over to government authorities for punishment. That is a seachange for the Pope to acknowledge the moral authority of government, IMO.
I've read of priests turned over and prosecuted, a big change, but am having trouble on search results. And no matter what, people will not change their minds because the wounds run much too deep:
I'm also not Jesus. I don't forgive everything, because I cannot forget.