Reply #18: Cause = a culture of secrecy [View All]

[klebean]

with the prime agenda of protecting their image. Bishops and cardinals had to swear a pontifical oath of secrecy (or be excommunicated) to protect the church from scandal - the number one sin being scandal against the church <-- (actually stated) in a document that discussed how to handle the crime of "solicitation" (defined as using one's position for "sexual favors").

This was issued worldwide in '62.
Fr. Thomas Doyle dug up this explosive little document, translated it and made it public.

The Vatican reacted issuing another secret edict (a motu proprios, which really aren't intended to be secret, in fact quite the opposite, but this is what it was called nonetheless) in 2001 saying, oh yeah - it's also a grave sin to abuse kids, but don't tell anyone except your bishop and let the church, specifically Cardinal Ratzinger, handle it.

Only the Vatican has the power to defrock a priest.

At a mock grand jury I attended last year, Thomas Doyle told the jury that the scope of abuse in the LA archdiocese would make the Boston debacle "look like an altar boy's picnic."

It is not a chicken/egg mystery. There are many reasons priests abuse children, and a small percentage of those abusers were indeed pedophiles seeking a profession that gave them access to children.

The ultimate cause however is this culture of secrecy and society's deference paid to "the Church."

I've interviewd dozens of victims; one doesn't "get over it," one learns to live with it and survive by adopting coping mechanisms. This is the principle SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is premised upon - ending the cycle of victimization by learning the skills to survive.