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Vatican Warned Irish Bishops Not to Report Abuse

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: January 18, 2011.

Print: New York Times

A newly revealed 1997 letter from the Vatican warned Ireland’s Catholic bishops not to report all suspected child-abuse cases to police — a disclosure that victims groups described as “the smoking gun” needed to show that the Vatican enforced a worldwide culture of cover-up.

The letter, obtained by Irish broadcasters RTE and provided to The Associated Press, documents the Vatican’s rejection of a 1996 Irish church initiative to begin helping police identify pedophile priests following Ireland’s first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits.

The letter undermines persistent Vatican claims, particularly when seeking to defend itself in U.S. lawsuits, that the church in Rome never instructed local bishops to withhold evidence or suspicion of crimes from police. It instead emphasizes the church’s right to handle all child-abuse allegations, and determine punishments, in house rather than hand that power to civil authorities.

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Comments (8)

1. Sir Crispin IV

Is anyone really surprised?

posted on January 18, 2011
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Surprise, surprise.  Wonder what Pope Ratz I will say to try to weasel out of this one.

posted on January 18, 2011
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Yes, I am since a study has found that a lot of documents are missing. I would have assumed stuff like that would have been destroyed too.

posted on January 18, 2011
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I’m not surprised but I am continually saddened.  Organized child rape is probably one of the most heinous acts imaginable and these charlatans and bastards continue to get away with it.

Monsters like these are why humans felt compelled to invent Hell.

posted on January 19, 2011
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The mere fact that there is no worldwide outcry shows a lot about the public’s fear of religion. If any other organization was raping children they’d quickly find themselves on lists of criminal organizations. But no, not God’s elect.

posted on January 19, 2011
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It is probably extreme to call the Catholic Church’s position “organised rape’. I assume that the vast majority of priests of the Catholic Church would not rape little boys. The problem is the Catholic Church’s unwillingness to let the law take its course in relation to those that do. Imagine the outrage if the allegations were against any corporation.

posted on January 19, 2011
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The problem is that religious leaders believe they and their subordinates are above secular laws.  It’s the idea that their perceived purpose and mission from god can allow them to go unpunished.  We have politicians who are delusional as well, believing that they were chosen by a deity to their position.

posted on January 21, 2011
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</a>We rgeert that we were unable to pass credit to the correct link in the first place, please accept our apologies, desired changes have already been made. Reply</a>

posted on February 16, 2012
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