In many secular newspapers, four days before Christmas, there is a story on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), being overwhelmed with abuse cases from the past. In fact in the Augusta Chronicle’s syndicated addition, the full front page is a photo of the CDF’s building next to Saint Peter’s with a glaring negative headline.
Apart from defrocking a bishop or priest and turning criminal bishops and priests over to civil law enforcement, there is nothing that the Church can do about these bishops and priests once they are defrocked unless the defrocked are willing to cooperate with Church authorities.
The priesthood and religious life aren’t a cult. If I want to leave the priesthood or the Church kicks me out of the priesthood, I am a free citizen in the USA. I can go and live wherever I want and do as I please if no civil criminal charges are brought against me.
I have to cooperate with the Church if the Church is to supervise me once I leave or am kicked out of the priesthood and/or religious life, or simply censured, suspended or otherwise reprimanded to a life of penance, prayer and good works. There are bishops and priests who willingly abide by the Church’s mandate that they live a life of prayer and penance away from the public in a monastery setting, but that is the accused prerogative as the Church can’t enforce this on a bishop, priest or religious.
In fact I know first hand of a deceased bishop guilty of abuse who lived out his life in a monastery and was an exemplary “monk” and did the menial chores of the monastery and washed and ironed the laundry of the other monks. Criminal charges could not be brought against him and he agreed to Church sanctions. But he did not have to do so if he didn't’ want to do so.
Can the Church take away my pension? In civil law, I don’t think so because the money I paid into the pension fund was from my paycheck. Others, like lawyers, might know better than me.
So to SNAP and others, the Church has no power to supervise or control former bishops, priests and religious once they are cut free. That’s up to civil authorities if criminal charges can be brought against them.
4 comments:
The issue, as I understand it, is that the institution of the Church helped the abuse by covering up and essentially facilitating further abuse. So the Church is punished for that action. I am not aware that the Church has been punished for identifying an abusive priest and handing him over promptly to police.
As far as the retired bishop living a humbled existence after resignation I am not sure that punishment is enough. The amount of money due the victim(s) is a poor sum compared to what he did, but it heaps further damage on everyone else while he merely nurses a bruised ego. If we believe that the money would have gone to help the worldly needs of people now deprived of that support and the bishop contributes only what he collected by deceit then his punishment seems pretty light.
It's a moot point because Bishops are never defrocked, suspended or laicized. They are instead sheltered, promoted and given cushy jobs in Rome.
Anon, Mr Theodore McCarrick may offer a different opinion.
rcg. one whole bishop! Reduced to list as a lay person given room and board by the Church. As opposed to all the lay people not given room and board by the Church. The worst that the Church can do is make someone live better than I do! How does the hierarchy sleep at night after showing such cruelty to McCarrick?
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