Former Vatican official: ICC appeal the 'usual anti-Catholic attempt'

It is about time that the Vatican has lost its impunity after centuries of getting away with murder. Galileo must be smiling for the first time in 500 years. There is nothing anti-catholic in the action taken against the Vatican. The problem is the Vatican has had the Jesuits working overtime on how to manipulate a really bad situation to the pope's advantage. Thankfully the 16th century won't be around much longer.HVBEU

The appeal to the ICC, Sepe said, amounts to “the usual anti-Catholic attempt, which tends to obscure an image [of the church] that, from a human point of view, is about the most prestigious we have in our society.”

Anti-Catholic? No. Anti-rape and anti-child abuse? Yes.

And about that "most prestigious" comment...is that what the Church is about...prestige? Thought so.

I love my faith, I love my church, I respect and honor our leaders and pray for them. It is because I love my church that I want any and all leaders who have abetted the rape of children to be removed from their positions.

Amnesty International in it's Annual 2011 cited the Vatican for human rights violations....

Clearly, an international focus is on the Church.8

1. The Vatican insists that it is a state, and so ought to be subject to the same rules as every other state. Some states in the world — China and the U.S. come to mind — claim to be exempt at least in certain cases, but they are on shaky ground. It is not anti-Catholic to seek justice for wrongs done, and especially when it is Catholics who have been wronged and are bringing charges, and representatives of the Catholic Church who are alleged to have done the wrong. All are innocent until proven guilty.

2. I seem to recall that Cardinal Sepe is under investigation for some financial dealings as Archbishop of Naples. That fact may or may not be germane, but he may not be in the strongest position to raise objections.

I think taking this case to the International Criminal Court is inappropriate. There are courts of competent jurisdiction in many of the countries where child abuse has occurred. I would hope that those courts would look to bring action against the bishops and other members of the hierarchy who were complicit in allowing the abuser to avoid criminal prosecution and sent them to other places where the abuse could continue. I believe they abetted the crimes that continued to happen and are as responsible as the person who only drives the get-away car in a bank heist.

What SNAP and the Center for Constitutional Rights has done is, perhaps, done out of frustration. Justice breaks down everywhere when we think that leaders of a religion are not held accountable to laws that, applied to anyone else, we would see as well deserved justice.

The lingering anger and distrust has less to do with the rules currently in place to protect children than it does with a distrust of those who are supposed to enforce those rules. Law of Boston is still in Rome. Finn is still bishop in kansas City-St Joe, Magee of Ireland faced and faces no punishment, the gentle Rigali of Philadelphia quietly retired, and if you want to know more, go to bishop-accountability.org.

And don't say that Rome has no power over what bishops do. Rome is the only one with power over bishops. Rome put them there and Rome is the only power in the Church to kick them out. Certainly the laity has no input and no power over bishops. Failure to act is acquiescence to the actions taken by the bishops.

Cardinal Sepe, dear: your comments are most amusing. Trust me: nobody goes to The Hague to try to smear an organization's reputation. They go because a heinous pattern of criminal behavior has taken place and they can prove it. Perhaps the Cardinal doesn't realize that the Criminal Court of the Hague is the world's court of last resort for crimes against humanity.

When individual nations wouldn't or couldn't prosecute World War II war criminals, they landed at The Hague because their criminal behaviors had been perpetrated across national borders. It's the same thing with those responsible for the precise relationships between the Vatican and individual dioceses, bishops and priests (i.e., the instruction to protect the Church's reputation at the cost of destroying individual victims). Trouble is, the Church actually thought that if it denied, obfuscated, rationalized and ran away, that the responsibility for their crimes would go away. It hasn't and it won't.

Even if the church manages to defend itself at The Hague and gets off the hook on some technicality or misjudgment of the Court, the world will know the truth: children were systematically raped by Catholic priests in every country in the world, and the church not only did nothing -- it protected the rapists and itself as its highest value. To hell with the kids.

I am deeply grateful to SNAP, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and all those who have put time, money and effort into this prosecution. Perhaps, God willing, some justice may come from it. I'd settle for a nice Ratzinger deposition, myself, as a start.

Susan Lersch
susan.lersch@yahoo.com

1. It is not anti-Catholic for Catholics who have allegedly been harmed by representatives and policies of the Catholic Church to seek redress of grievances. The Church must be accountable.

2. I seem to recall that Cardinal Sepe, of Naples, is under investigation for some allegedly illegal financial dealings. He may not be in the strongest position to make the case, even though all are innocent until proven otherwise.

The indictments were authored by the organisation SNAP who have developed an agenda which seems more to do with an anti-Church ideology rather than any meaningful attempts to hold prelates to account for policies which endanger children. The remit of SNAP was to support and improve the situation of victims of the abominable sin of child abuse by predators within the ranks of the priesthood and religious. Now they want the pope in the dock with some heads of Vatican congregations on charges which accuse them of the shameful charge of orchestrating a world-wide conspiracy to protect suspected/proven violators of children as well as impeding justice. If their campaign was not so ideologically-drive, then possibly the more fairer-minded members of SNAP would appreciate the very laudable moves that the present pope has made to tackle this terrible plague during his various ministries. As head of the CDF in 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger successfully requested the passing of global cases to his dept, as up until then they were handled in a very sporadic manner. His intention was to systematically streamline all procedures in order to expedite the defrocking of abusers and justice for victims.

As pope,Benedict XV1 alluded to the "filth" within the priesthood during his homily at the funeral mass for his late, great predecessor, pope John Paul 11 in 2005. Around the same time, he was fighting against entrenched interests in the Vatican to prosecute a case against the predatory founder of the Legion of Christ order, Fr. Marcial Maciel. Benedict XV1 on principle refused to accept any financial bribes that Fr Maciel was freely giving to figures in authority in the Vatican. Last year he considerably tightened up loopholes in canon law to prevent abusers escaping justice and has met on various occasions with abuse victims during his apostolic voyages abroad.

I acknowledge that there has been a culture of abuse cover-up by members of various hierarchies across the world and that heads of Vatican departments are not innocent in that respect. But this clerical reaction to outside influences was not the mindset of the present successor to St Peter who conducted his own battle to fight against this disastrous, narrow clericalism.

I applaud the Survivors Network of the Abused by Priests for bringing the worldwide cases of priest sexual abuse to the attention of the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

I personally do not think that the victims of priest sexual abuse will get justice at the Hague, if the present Prosecutor is the person who will be in charge of any decision-making in regard to the Vatican.

From what I have read, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is a Catholic and has defended priests who have been accused of sexual abuse in the past.

I am a Catholic physician who has met many who have been abused by priests. I have found that Catholic professionals can have a misguided deference for our Church, which can hinder justice being served for the victims of priest sexual abuse.

I believe that it is critically important for a non-Catholic and non-biased prosecutor be appointed to replace the present prosecutor in order for there to be the chance of justice being served and the Vatican being made accountable for its crimes against humanity.

Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Chicago, IL, USA

One of the most extraordinary and novel court filings I have ever seen and there is much food for serious thought in it. I put up an essay on my site entitled "Vatican and Torture".

Yes, this is indeed anti-Catholicism, anti-Christian and wholly a left-liberal attack on the same by victims who have unfortunately become political entrepreneurs. They long ago stopped being victims and have become an industry. It is also hypocracy. When was the last time that islam or any mosque or imam/mullah was sent to the discredited ICC for the uncountable victims of muslim terrorism? It hasn't happened and never will because the left-liberal anti-Church gang are socio-political cowards and hypocrites. They attack the Church because she is an easy target and neither she nor her followers are willing to fight back, so far. I for one am not an easy target and I sure as hell will and do fight back, anyway I can or must, and with the greatest contempt I can muster. You (and your muslim comrades) have been trying for 1,950 years to ruin us and have failed utterly. Give it up.

Send your story and evidence to:

The Prosecutor
The International Criminal Court
Dr. Luis Moreno Ocampo
Maanweg174 NL-2516 AB Den Haag
The Hague,The Netherlands

"It is also important to enter your name in one of the websites of these websites demonstrating your approval:"

http://www.popeaccountability.org/do-you-approve-/index.php (English)

http://www.der-fall-des-papstes.com/finden-sie-das-gut/index.php (German)