Vatican law: Priests, nuns must report sex abuse, cover-up

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday (May 9) requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in a new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks.
The new church law provides whistleblower protections for anyone making a report and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system in place to receive the claims confidentially. And it outlines procedures for conducting preliminary investigations when the accused is a bishop, cardinal or religious superior.

To read more:

https://religionnews.com/2019/05/09/vatican-law-priests-nuns-must-report-sex-abuse-cover-up/

[JoeOtterbein]

1. In the USA it has been the law to report sex abuse for a long time. He has been Pope for some time.

I guess the Pope is looking for credit now?

[guillaumeb]

3. This applies worldwide. eom

[thewhollytoast]

2. Why not just tell your priests and nuns around the world to call the God-damned cops! eom

[guillaumeb]

4. That is an option.

But for whatever reason, he did not take that step.

[trotsky]

7. We know the reason.

They are dedicated to their religious beliefs that the church hierarchy is above secular law.

[Major Nikon]

9. Makes it easier to cover up that way

Also gives the child rape apologists ammo to claim the RCC is actually doing something besides telling the rapists the devil made them do it.

[guillaumeb]

10. The Pope supports the seal of the Confessional.

Hardly surprising.

[trotsky]

11. So you feel their religious belief that they are above the law is justified.

Understood.

[guillaumeb]

13. My belief is that the Pope does believe this.

So no, you did not understand.

[trotsky]

14. The closest you've come to taking a stand on that topic is to say you're "not sure."

So have you made up your mind yet?

[guillaumeb]

15. If one eliminated the seal of the Confessional,

what would change?

Would predators give up predation, or give up Confession?

Experience suggests the latter.

[trotsky]

16. Answer the question, please.

What you posted was not an answer.

Do you feel their religious belief that they are above the law is justified?

Yes or no.

[guillaumeb]

17. What does US law say?

If US law allows for this, as it allows for legal confidentiality, the answer is obvious. My opinion is irrelevant. But their are reasons that legal confidentiality and the seal of the Confessional are allowed.

[trotsky]

18. I don't care what US law says. I'm asking for your opinion.

Why are you afraid to provide it? Are you ashamed?

[guillaumeb]

19. If you wish to ignore the law, and the actual facts,

I understand.

So do you accuse the entire US legal system of some sort of conspiracy?

If so, good luck with your narrative.

[trotsky]

23. I'm asking for your opinion.

You refuse to provide it.

Narratives indeed.

[MineralMan]

20. Do you believe that all US laws are morally sound?

Your opinion might be irrelevant, but you could still share it. You never seem willing to do so, though.

I'll share mine, though:

No law should allow any religious exemption from notifying authorities of criminal acts.

That's my opinion. You're welcome to share yours.

[guillaumeb]

21. I understand your opinion.

But given that my job as a union representative required knowledge of applicable labor law, and handbooks and manuals specific to my union, my view is that if it is legal, there is a reason for that.

You may not agree with the logic behind the reason, but that is irrelevant.

[MineralMan]

22. What does that have to do with not following the law?

What does it have to do with not reporting crimes that occur. What does that have to do with religious exemptions from doing so.

Many laws have been changed because they were actually immoral and wrong. Slavery was once legal, but has always been wrong. Eventually, laws that made it legal were changed, because it was wrong

It has always been wrong to have sex with children. There are laws requiring most people who have contact with children to report even the suspicion of sexual abuse against them. There is a legal exemption for priests. That exemption is immoral and wrong. It allows crimes against children to continue, even though they are known, but are not reported due to that exemption.

Immoral laws must be changed. Immoral laws should not be followed. If slavery was legal, would you own slaves? If it was not illegal to have sex with children, would you have sex with children.

It is legal for priests not to report people who confess they have had sex with children. That is an immoral law, because the safety and personal rights of a third party are involved. It is against the law to have sex with children. There should be no exemptions from reporting known violations of such laws. Not for anyone.

You say you follow the laws. Are there no possible laws you would not refuse to follow? There certainly are for me.

Legalism can lead to harm to innocent victims. That is the real question here. Are you, then, a legalist?

[guillaumeb]

26. Yes, laws can be changed.

But until they are, we have what actually exists.

[MineralMan]

27. We also have civil disobedience.

You might have heard about that somewhere.

[marylandblue]

28. It's really wierd that you think your former occupation renders your opinion irrelevant.

[MineralMan]

12. Ah, so it's OK, then?

C'mon Monsieur B. Really?

[trotsky]

24. He won't answer otherwise, so we can only assume that yes, he thinks it's just fine.

And is ashamed to admit it.

[MineralMan]

25. Silence Shouts Truth!

Yes, indeed, it does.

Some people use discussion forums as playgrounds. Some children on playgrounds find it amusing to throw sand in other people's eyes. Eventually, someone throws sand into their eyes, in return. That becomes an object lesson for some people. For others, it simply creates a need to escalate.

It's easy to provoke people. That doesn't take a lot of intellectual capacity. It's harder to actually argue a point. Too hard for some for whom throwing sand in people's eyes suffices as an amusement.

Some people are very persistent in their quest for amusement. Still, one can only sweep sand under the rug for a while.

[emmaverybo]

5. Still trying to keep it all in the family. Sex abuse should be reported to law enforcement PERIOD

[trotsky]

6. A joke.

See here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1218313666

[MineralMan]

8. Old story, already posted in this group

This morning, and from a reputable news source.

Are things not news, in your opinion, until you find them at your source?