Reading Time: 3 minutesA flood of cases has now clearly established not only that priests have sexually molested children, but that the Church has concealed their offences. The Catholic Church’s response to this revelation is demonstrably inadequate, inappropriate, and far too slow.
It beggars belief to hear that the Pope is currently making Bishops aware of the gravity of child abuse. Any cleric, not aware of the seriousness of child sexual assault by priests is either a fool, totally uncaring, or has very distorted moral values. Is the Pope really suggesting that many church leaders qualify as such? I really want to hear an even vaguely persuasive argument as to why any senior member of the Church’s hierarchy deserved to retain his position if he cannot understand why sexual assault of children is an extremely serious crime for which there should be no tolerance.
Pope Francis
Similarly, is it at all possible to justify a policy of not reporting child abuse by a priest to the relevant civil authorities, preferring instead to move priests to another diocese. while pressuring victims into not disclosing the offence. Of courage it is not possible to justify such action. Yet inexplicably, resistance to consequent reforms continues to be voiced by Church leaders who maintain a position of denial.
During the Vatican meeting, a Bishop suggested that it is inadequate and inappropriate to continue discussing how the Church should deal with incidents of child abuse, without also accepting that offending priests need to be dealt with by civil authorities with expertise in dealing with pedophiles. The clergy is as subject to the criminal law as any other person or organisation, yet it appears that for some inexplicable and totally unacceptable reason the Church feels entitled to determine if and how offenders should be dealt with.
Speaking up for the victims
The implementation of a policy that shields perpetrators from law enforcement clearly constitutes a criminal offence. The Church is at liberty to forgive a priest’s sin, but not to help him avoid criminal liability. That the Pope has admitted that he too failed to respond to child abuse allegations brought to him, underlines that it is not merely a fringe few who act in this manner.
Hopefully, George Pell’s conviction will send the message that even Cardinals are not above the law and that the word of the highest ranking Church figures should not be given greater weight than that of their victims.
Cardinal George Pell
However, I do hope that Cardinal Pell’s conviction does not serve to move the focus away from the Church’s institutional attitudes. The astonishingly high number of incidents of child abuse by clergy simply could not have occurred without the Church’s lack of respect for civil law, and preoccupation with protecting the reputation of the Church.
Without these self absorbed, uncaring and perverted policies, child abusers like Cardinal Pell and many other Church figures would have been exposed and dealt with according to the law, and countless children would not have been harmed irreparably.
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