Outraged over police raid on church offices? Wait for what is revealed

Does anyone know what provision in Canon Law Ms. Blaine is talking about? I'd be interested to see that.

I agree with the author. The Church should be transparent even pro-active in these matters.

I wonder. is this a catholic page ? You should "came out of the closet" and tell the truth.

To say "...I can't summon much compassion for the Belgian church employees who were inconvenienced for a few hours last week. It's theoretically possible, I suppose, that every one of them is completely innocent of committing or concealing child sex crimes (though just this year, hundreds of alleged victims of Belgian predator priests have stepped forward)..."
Not all chancery employees (in any diocese of any Church denomination) are responsible or knowledgeable about the corrupt activities of those who have authority. Such a tongue-in-cheek remark, implying that all are corrupt and engaged in illegal activity is an accusation that undermines the effort to address those who are truly corrupt. It is an extreme reaction which accuses the innocent along with the guilty. Many are working to pay the rent, buy food and survive--exactly as in other corporations with corrupt CEOs. Not ALL employees are equal in any organization. Not at all!

It really sounds ridiculous when bishops claim that they were inconvenienced for 9 hours. Remember that abuse of hundreds of children is at the heart of the investigation. And the bishops complain that they were inconvenienced??

I don't know what will emerge out of this raid. But regardless, I think the church should assist the aid, not throw a tantrum.

If confiscating documents from the independent panel that is investigating the abuse was illegal, then it should appeal in court. But I doubt if it will get its way. If the issues being investigated are criminal offences, and they are, then keeping them confidential is probably illegal in many places.

It is about time that responsibility for violation of criminal laws is being taken seriously! Next step excommunication for violations against life.

I must say that I strongly disagree with the conduct of the Belgian officials purely on civil liberty grounds (in line with accepted American -- admittedly not European -- norms). I really don't care what the alleged crime is. There is very little excuse for detaining persons in the absence of probable cause. There is no justification for violating the sanctity of a tomb where such matters can be resolved in a genuinely adversarial proceeding without any threat of destruction of evidence. The results of raids do not justify the means by which such results are obtained. This is not a Catholic issue but rather an issue of basic civil liberties.

A Friend of Liberty

At all costs, secrecy must be maintained. Our church lives, thrives by secrecy--from the weekly collection to the files of the Vatican. And now we see they can't handle exposure. There's similarities between our church and the Nixon administration, which also thrived on secrecy, on secret files. But it all came crashing down. The 24 hour news cycle, whatever its drawbacks has our church befuddled. This Pope is now ruling by the seat of his pants. He doesn't seem to know where to turn. He's now lashing out--at Belgium and at the Cardinal in Austria. May God help him.

This article is wrong in so many ways. First, the file that's kept secret is usually a file regarding spiritual, existential, private conversations that are private just like a PSYCHOLOGIST'S PATIENT FILE is kept private.
The person who wrote this article makes it sound like it's evil, and it is not. So, priests are evil now for not breaking the seal of confession. Seriously people this criticism is getting ridiculous.
I don't like the way the hierarchy is handling the situation. But I do think that some seal regarding some church procedures is necessary since the subjects of spiritual direction and the sacrament of reconciliation are very delicate.

Canon 489 -490 is the canon for the secret archive. google it and you'll find an article by Tom Doyle, O.P.

The Pope needs to start practicing the oath: "I do solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God."

As always in these discussions, I am left torn and my emotions are all over the place. These events are never clearly marked "good guy" or "bad guy" or "evil" or "good". They just happen and everybody involved is then required to play his or her role in the drama as it unfolds. This is normal.

The cops are supposed to be cops at all times. That is proper in any country. The bishops and chancery staff are supposed to safeguard the corporate entity known as the Church under their supervision. That is also proper. They are among other things, corporate officers.

But what does that really mean (i.e. that this is normal) where the rubber meets the road? It means that there must be tension, disagreement as to what is proper and what is not. That is to be expected. These two groups, law enforcement and church beauracrats, have two very different agendas in this case. What else could they have? They do not represent the same constituency.

The cops want the perps that they believe exist within the ranks of the church in Belgium. The church clerics and their staffs want to protect the church and its assets. Would we expect anything else? This is normal. This is how corporations do the corporate dance with government...everywhere in the West. Local, state and federal police agencies invade corporate headquarters almost every week in this country. They are looking for records.

This is why being a corporate lawyer pays so much money...this stuff goes on every day everywhere in the world where government wants access to private records in order to force corporations to follow the law, both criminal and civil. So far, other than Brussels and Rome being testy with each other, I don't see this as any different than what goes on in every state government in the USA every day relative to alleged corporate wrongdoing and government trying to secure corporate records to prove wrongdoing.

This is how a democracy is supposed to work. Nothing wrong has happened here on any side of the issue that I can see. The Belgian government wants to uncover crime that it believes the church is hiding. The church is protecting its assets and proclaiming its innocence and screaming that the Belgian government is overstepping its authority.

This is how the law and the legal dance plays out in the Western world. This is normal.

Both sides are right. Both sides are wrong. That is how the law works...everywhere. This will go to court and the Belgian justice system will ultimately decide who is "more" right and who is "mostly" wrong and then action will be taken.

As far as I can see this is all needless melodrama. Let the cops and the bishops do their jobs...and lets wait and see what happens in the Belgian court system.

According to other reports, victims came forward to testify before a church commission, chaired by a psychiatrist, with the understanding they would remain anonymous. You would hope the Belgian police continue to honor their wishes.

The action taken by the Belgian police was extraordinary. Extraordinary actions are justified in extraordinary situations. What was the situation that warranted this action? Was the Belgian Church stalling or refusing to co-operate to the extent that the police considered it necessary to depart from normal procedures and do what they did? I have not read or heard anything to that effect. And I find it strange that no one sees to have asked that question. We in the U.S. would certainly ask it if similar police action took place here against any organization.

I am also puzzled that the people who express such unhinged anger against the Church, even suggesting a military attack on the Vatican, are strangely silent and complacent about the far more widespread sexual abuse taking place in organizations other than the Church. I seriously think we have to ask ourselves does our anger spring from a revulsion to child abuse or just hatred for the Church.

Looks like the war has finally started, and rightfully so.

War tactics should be applied to Vatican City ¬– where the devil takes his holiday
By Mike Ference

Every day brings new evidence that we no longer live in a civilized and principled society. The worst part, it usually concerns another case of sexual misconduct involving a Catholic priest, young children and a church hierarchy that helped to cover up the case.

The Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal continues to spiral out of control from one country to the next; while the pope still refuses to solve the problem. It’s now clearly documented that across the globe tens of thousands of innocent girls and boys have been sexually violated – used and abused as sex toys by Catholic clergy, yet, nothing has or will ever be done. Thousands of pedophiles, former Catholic clerics, roam the world and no one really knows where these monsters are, how many victims they have left behind or how many more will suffer from priests trained to sexually abuse since their seminary days.

So — what should be done now that we know it’s a pattern of terror orchestrated by the Catholic Church hierarchy and repeated everywhere the dysfunctional sex freaks have established a church, school, hospital or other institution; then covered up in every layer of the all male run society – even by the pope, himself. Given the level of wreckage and anguish caused in the lives of so many people, it seems appropriate to look to the war on terror for a model strategy.

A first prong of attack at the Vatican might involve a Special Forces unit made up of highly skilled and trained military personnel capable of tracking down and obtaining confessions from any current or former priests accused of acts of sexual abuse against children. If rights are violated, if military personnel sometimes go a little too far, so be it. The Catholic Church had ample opportunity to fess up and repent. Those incapable of civilized behavior shouldn’t expect the rights and privileges of civilization.

A deck of cards can be created to help identify hard-to-find priests as well as the disgraceful church leaders who permitted, and in essence, condoned the sexual abuse of young children. Photos of the most deviant and reprehensible church officials accompanied by a list of their offenses will encourage us all to do our patriotic duty in helping the authorities track down suspected priest-terrorists or at least be able to identify the culprits as they come and go freely because their sins where covered up and the time to criminally prosecute has expired.

Another option would be to divide the world into territories. A color-code warning system would be established, alerting parents about abusive priests being transferred into their respective regions. Depending on the designated color for a particular region, parents would know whether their children should serve at Mass, go on field trips, or even attend Catholic school that day.

To aid this unique war on terror, a pool of money should be collected, not involuntarily from taxpayers, but voluntarily from those decent human beings who believe crimes committed against our children are sins that God takes very seriously. Some of the funds raised could then be turned into outrageously tempting reward sums for information leading to the capture of our targeted criminals. Once the rogue clerics have been imprisoned and forced to talk, I recommend that their confessions be given to someone like Steven Spielberg or George Romero. Hollywood writers and producers could create a blockbuster movie like Roots or Schindler’s List to serve as a bitter reminder that these crimes should never again be permitted to occur. Tom Savini could be hired to recreate the horror on the faces of child actors chosen to play parts.

Proceeds from the movie could go to victims of abuse and their families. And no matter how old the crime, compensation would be available. There should be no statute of limitations when the rights of children have been violated by those who lived much of their adult lives perched on a pedestal heightened by the trust of innocent and vulnerable believers. In fact, I would extend compensation to the second and perhaps even third generation of sufferers. It would certainly include siblings denied the experience of growing up with a brother or sister untraumatized by such abuse. And since crimes of abuse tend to echo, it would extend to the victims of the victims as well.

If all else fails, is it any less rational to declare war on the Catholic Church as part of a war on child abuse than it was to declare war on Iraq (which had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al-Qaeda and apparently had no weapons of mass destruction) as part of a war on terror? How many innocent children have been verifiably lost to this menace — and how many more will be lost if we don’t make a preemptive strike?

As horrific as sexual abuse by priests may be, the perpetrators might merit a more forgiving place if only their superiors had the courage to do the right thing. For a few, counseling and close supervision might have been enough to prevent future abuses. Others clearly required something more intensive — a mental hospital or a prison.

But repeated abuse, as well as willfully hiding the crimes and the criminals — as far as I can see, this brings us much closer to the realm of mortal sin. And the sinners include not just the church hierarchy, but also attorneys who ill-advised parents not to buck the system and take on the Catholic Church, or may even have provided inside information to thwart legitimate cases against the church, law enforcement officials who may have thought it best to warn church officials of pending investigations, and janitors, housekeepers, teachers, and employees of the Catholic Church who kept silent because of concerns about a paycheck, a 401K, a pension, or a fear of standing up to church authorities. God has a place for everyone — and if you abuse children or protect the abusers of children, we can only hope that your place is called hell.

Mike Ference has been an advocate for clergy sex abuse survivors for over 21 years. He has written about the problem and works with clergy abuse families in Pennsylvania and across the United States helping victims work through the corrupt bureaucratic maize of injustice. He attributes much of the problem to corrupt leaders in government, organized crime and Catholic Church hierarchy more concerned about power and money than the salvation of souls. He has labeled the commonwealth of Pennsylvania a Pro-pedophile state where Catholic clergy sex abuse cover-ups are still the norm. Mike can be reached at 412-233-5491 or email him at mike@ferencemarketing.com

What does toledo and a murder case havae to do with
Belgium? this woman's logic isn't

I agree with Cait Finnegan that the author's reaction is extreme. The author is trying to stand up for victims of abuse, but failing to allow for the basic human rights of the bishops in this instance.

1. Investigations do not show guilt of those investigated (presumption of innocence, due process).
2. Unless investigations are carried out justly, justice will not be served (due process).
These rights are recognised in Europe as well as in America.

Questions are rightly being asked about the manner in which the raid was carried out. Did it have to be done while the Bishops meeting was in session, requiring their detention for 9 hours? Was this a publicity stunt by the authorities to 'flex their muscles' against the Church?

No, being Catholic does not mean approving of or defending everything every Catholic does, but it does mean standing up for the Church when it is being unfairly treated.

Why is it that so many Catholics lack the courage to be outraged at evil? Why do they get upset when someone tries to do something about it? Are they so co-dependent and religiously addicted to the institutional church that they no longer care about anything except the salvation of their soul and what a narcissistic church authority has to say about life?

The vatican's frenzy would be better spent elsewhere.

I do not believe for a moment that "hatred of the church" is fueling the child sex abuse fire in Belgium. But I do know that "hatred of the church" is fueling the fire in the Vatican. Who, but those who hate the church and the living gospel of Our Lord, would think it is holy to obey men who hide child raping clerics all over the world?

Who, but those who hate the church and the living gospel of Our Lord would believe that ANYTHING they do on altars is as holy as the soul of one child?

Father Gerald Robinson had committed murder of a nun near the altar on Easter, for goodness sake. The archdiocese still covered for him, stopped the investigation and hid the file. After all, when he was on the altar his hands were always sacred. That is what they believe and it has them harboring criminals everywhere.

There is hatred of the church, all right. But it comes from within, always has. The same men who allowed Maciel to have his child raping heyday are still in charge. Pray for the pope who may be an innocent compared to the rest of them. He might learn before he dies that sex abuse of children by his priests, bishops and Cardinals is worse than living a gay life, practicing contraception, and questioning papal infalliblity. He might even encourage raids of palaces harboring the very men perpetrating these crimes. And he might show some outrage, honest to goodness outrage, about the desecration of children's bodies and souls, instead of the desecration of dead men's graves.

Thank you, Barbara, for your fine article.

And thank you, Most Blessed Mother, for answering our hearts prayers and exposing these men and their centuries old evil committed in the name of your Son, Jesus.

AW

Barb: you go girl! See you in Chicago next month!

Fr. James Chevedden, S.J., reported Jesuit Charles Connor as a sex abuser and then Chevedden fell to his death from a building. The Jesuit Order covered up evidence related to Chevedden’s death. We also need a police raid on the Church offices.

Jesuits involved in this case include Thomas Smolich (now the top Jesuit official in the USA), Alfred Naucke, Anthony Scholander, Jerold Lindner ($2 million in sex abuse settlements on his record) and Charles Connor (lead defendant in a $7 million sex abuse settlement).

Every time I read one of these articlesa, I get this image in my head of Jesus lecturing the Saduccees and Pharisees. Their sins were different, but I find that the Bishops et al. are characterlogically akin to the Jewish heirarchy. Are there any priests left in the Church who care more about Jesus' dictum to feed my sheep than about CYA? Is there no comprehension that feeding my sheep includes protecting the most vulnerable of the church: the children. If I do not keep my gaze firmly fixed on Jesus, I could easily walk away from the Church.

May God have mercy on us all.

The Toledo episode must rank as the most heinous display of church arrogance and depravity, not to mention the total lack of any semblance of moral thinking! These are the guys we should look up to for moral guidance? Sadly, I think people are becoming inured to the sheer abhorrence of the revelations that are uncovered on an almost daily basis. The legal system must take its course and prosecute to the fullest; there must be no compassion for these merciless predators that have ruined countless young lives.
Now we have a man in a dress, with headgear resembling that of the ancient pharaohs, dripping with gold and jewels (while people around the world are starving by the way), surrounded by self-proclaimed "princes of the church" in their own finery asking for forgiveness? Gee, I wonder why no one in their right mind buys this?
How about an edict that bishops immediately report child sexual abuses by priests to the police? How about excommunicating these villains? How about defrocking them when convicted? How about exposing and prosecuting their protectors, not to be vindictive, but to protect future victims? No stomach for it Josef? Maybe it strikes too close to home.

The Toledo episode must rank as the most heinous display of church arrogance and depravity, not to mention the total lack of any semblance of moral thinking! These are the guys we should look up to for moral guidance? Sadly, I think people are becoming inured to the sheer abhorrence of the revelations that are uncovered on an almost daily basis. The legal system must take its course and prosecute to the fullest; there must be no compassion for these merciless predators that have ruined countless young lives.
Now we have a man in a dress, with headgear resembling that of the ancient pharaohs, dripping with gold and jewels (while people around the world are starving by the way), surrounded by self-proclaimed "princes of the church" in their own finery asking for forgiveness? Gee, I wonder why no one in their right mind buys this?
How about an edict that bishops immediately report child sexual abuses by priests to the police? How about excommunicating these villains? How about defrocking them when convicted? How about exposing and prosecuting their protectors, not to be vindictive, but to protect future victims? No stomach for it Josef? Maybe it strikes too close to home.

Wasn’t Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Faith, responsible for overseeing the Church’s tactical strategy toward sex abuse cases by catholic priests the world over? Wasn’t he an advocate of a “delay until the Statute of Limitations has expired” strategy? Joseph Ratzinger's strategy was to obstruct justice in every country. This man is a criminal (an accessory to child abuse) and should be brought to justice...perhaps at the Hague. He should be tried, convicted and sent to prison.

Better to have the tomb of a dead bishop desecrated than the body of a small child desecrate by Bishops who are alive and walking around to desecrate again other children.

The priorities of the Vatican are made clear - Bishops, even pedophile Bishops are more important than children.

Thank you Barbara for the work you do with SNAP on behalf of children.

Great Article Barbara! Good job! Time for the hierarchy to face the music. All the words of the Vatican are just words so it seems. Action is the only thing that matters now. CLEAN HOUSE and rid the CHURCH of all the abusive priests and anyone that covered up for them. I'm done....... I no longer trust the church.

Great article Barbara. Time for the Vatican to stop whining and clean house of all the abusive priests and anyone who covered for them and turn over ALL the hidden files.

Corperation Christe the Root of abuse and enablement.

Pvt Swafford was my Air Force /Army name when Delayed PTS kicked me hard unexpectedly in Chaplain Assistant training class from rape by a Priest under his therapeutic hypnosis just 7 months earlier. They try to make you think they feel so awful about the children, but that allows them to ignore vulnerable trusting young adults who get abused. People use mankinds emotions for children to manipulate feelings and perceptions, (Salesmanship 101 first day in class).
9 months after the abuse i had fathers baby at Walter Reed Army Hospital psychiatric ward. That place of military honor where I suffered my excruciating shame in secrecy and silence they could not understand (Army shrinks aint the cream of the class, right Major Jihad at Ft Hood?). The NYC Merchant Marine Dr called it correct in 30 seconds. Better experienced Drs work in the NYC jungle.
The clergy wont even look at fathers baby for his ugliness. If he crys out even in silence they call the police to bar me from entering the Cathedral, from going to mass even this last Monday evening. It was the 50th anniversary of the Bishop that did such excellent lawyering to cover up and obstruct justice. I had wrote with all my pain to complain he had never once reached out to me, but he has a troop of company that want me to call themselves father. That really confuses fathers baby.
I had a warm fellowship outside with men I respect and admire; the cops. They could see through the rectors cowardice for what it was and we became friends.
I have reached the end of my 32 year patient long suffering on this cross.
This cross of obstruction of justice by religion unto death.

Time to give me my just and due

I demand the Bishop of Rome apologize to
The Commander in Chief for the rape of a Navy orphan, and destruction of my military career that I was born and raised for with beautiful Air Force love. And ALL the subsequent obstructions of Justice. Especially after my abuser was swiftly booted out of the Navy when he became a Chaplain. GO NAVY!

The Popes apology thus! even if they do think the Commander in Chief is the Anti Christ just because he is not a white republican (will the real antichrist please stand up and give these people what they are looking so hard for, and put a stop to that silly speculation and political, spiritual abuse of the Gospel once and for all).
Sex Abuse is only one leg of the Corpus iniquitatis set up by Corperation Christe. Corperation Christe disabled the firewall of the Holy Spirit to enable abuse of the religion and that opened the door for the virulent plague of sex abuse to flourish among all the other abuses.
This diocese intends to obstruct justice unto my death.
In "The Imitation of Christ", who sanctified being a victim of religion through him over every thing and any thing that calls itself religion.
If they think me mad they need to take responsibility for fathers baby and take better care. I cant do it all alone even though i tried all my adult life.
Meditate on the wounds of Lord, Lord, in your piety of imagination and meditate on mine for I still have breath of G'ds life walking among you.
The victims are ONE with the cross.
Corperation Christe is the bad seed long ago sown by some enemy of the very heart and life of the Gospel. The Scythe that mysteriously appeared in my yard says; Its harvest time to cut down the full grown weeds.
The Tuba of the Lord has sounded
Benedict XVI is summoned to the White House for my penance.

This is great. The Belgian bishops led by Daneels destroyed the Church in that country and now we can see what else they have done. We are seeing the fall of the great liberal apostate bishops by age and by law.