When I lived in Boston there was a tremendous scandal concerning a day care where the workers were accused of horrible abuse. In many cases the accusations were physically impossible and there was actually evidence that it was fabricated by the psychologists and an ambitious district attourney. Even when proven innocent the sentences were not commuted due to horrible details in the accusations. The lives of people means little to the ambitious.
Ms Rabinowitz did excellent work in that case as well and I expect she will use the pages of the WSJ to help in this case, too. We must be prepared only for the satisfaction of knowing the truth in our own minds and hearts and long for popular admission.
As for Paul Harvey: as wonderful as that would be, it would be creepy to hear him speak from the grave.
I don't want to denigrate the suffering that people have experienced at the hands of abusers, whether they be priests, teachers, parents, etc. However, there is a reason for "statutes of limitations" to provide for some kind of fairness especially when one is accused of a serious crime. When priests have been dead for 40 years and someone comes forward with an accusation, how does one defend oneself and reputation. You can't. When accusation stem from events 40 years ago, how does a priest who might be in his 70's or 80's defend himself?
Father, I honestly and respectfully think you are missing the point. People who will hate us will find a way no matter what. But priests such as Cutie committed a betrayal that created an obstacle to faith in Catholics and those who might otherwise have inquired. Through their actions they validated the lies of the haters and slander against the innocent and faithful priests. If we excise the cancer effectively then we can call the false accusations the barnyard clutter they actually are.
We will never rid humanity of itself, so these weaknesses will follow us until we grow tails again. What we can do is make it be a part of our ethic to deal clearly and swiftly with betrayal so that the accusers would look foolish making the claims.
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When I lived in Boston there was a tremendous scandal concerning a day care where the workers were accused of horrible abuse. In many cases the accusations were physically impossible and there was actually evidence that it was fabricated by the psychologists and an ambitious district attourney. Even when proven innocent the sentences were not commuted due to horrible details in the accusations. The lives of people means little to the ambitious.
Ms Rabinowitz did excellent work in that case as well and I expect she will use the pages of the WSJ to help in this case, too. We must be prepared only for the satisfaction of knowing the truth in our own minds and hearts and long for popular admission.
As for Paul Harvey: as wonderful as that would be, it would be creepy to hear him speak from the grave.
rcg
I don't want to denigrate the suffering that people have experienced at the hands of abusers, whether they be priests, teachers, parents, etc. However, there is a reason for "statutes of limitations" to provide for some kind of fairness especially when one is accused of a serious crime. When priests have been dead for 40 years and someone comes forward with an accusation, how does one defend oneself and reputation. You can't. When accusation stem from events 40 years ago, how does a priest who might be in his 70's or 80's defend himself?
Father, I honestly and respectfully think you are missing the point. People who will hate us will find a way no matter what. But priests such as Cutie committed a betrayal that created an obstacle to faith in Catholics and those who might otherwise have inquired. Through their actions they validated the lies of the haters and slander against the innocent and faithful priests. If we excise the cancer effectively then we can call the false accusations the barnyard clutter they actually are.
We will never rid humanity of itself, so these weaknesses will follow us until we grow tails again. What we can do is make it be a part of our ethic to deal clearly and swiftly with betrayal so that the accusers would look foolish making the claims.
rcg
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