The submission, lodged at The Hague on Tuesday, accuses the four men not only of failing to prevent or punish perpetrators of rape and sexual violence but also of engaging in the "systematic and widespread" practice of concealing sexual crimes around the world. It includes individual cases of abuse where letters and documents between Vatican officials and others show a refusal to co-operate with law enforcement agencies seeking to pursue suspects, according to the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a US-based organisation that represents the claimants, Pam Spees, human rights attorney for CCR, said: "The point of this is to look at it from a higher altitude. You zoom out and the practices are identical: whistle blowers are punished, the refusal of the Vatican to co-operate with law enforcement agencies. you see the protection of priests and leaving them in the ministry and because of these decisions other children are reaped and sexually assaulted."The above-linked report does not specualte on what legal repercussions, if any, this complaint man actually have on the Vatican or those accused.
UPDATE: The Catholic League's Bill Donohue reacts.
Most cases of molestation did not involve children, and they did not involve rape. The most common victim was a post-pubescent male victimized by homosexuals, the most common offense being "inappropriate touching." The figures being bandied about are nothing more than a wild guess provided by the Church's critics; they bear no relationship to reality. How do we know? Because when hard data are available on these matters, the projections are proven wholly inaccurate. Moreover, it is a lie to say that sexual abuse is being covered up at the highest levels of the Vatican. The homosexual scandal took place during the sexual revolution, and most of the offenses ended a quarter-century ago. To charge otherwise is scurrilous. The Holy See is not a member of the ICC, making it difficult to prosecute. Nonetheless, the Catholic League will contact the ICC today, providing documentation of our own that demonstrates how partisan this complaint really is.via joemygod
Regarding the update:
ReplyDeleteOh, well, I guess that's okay Bill Donohue, as long as it was just touching and not full-on penetration rape. You're right, some of those not yet legal young teen boys had grown a bit o f hair. Those two things make everything better...
If you hadn't noticed, all of that is FALSE! Sarcasm isn't nearly harsh enough for what those priests did under the guise of a religious leadership. They have ruined so many lives, and their trial for crimes against humanity has not come fast enough. Shame on them all for trying to cover it up and give shelter to those who tear down the goodness in the souls of mankind.