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In 1997, Catholic bishops in Ireland had a policy that made it mandatory to report suspected pedophile priests to the police. A letter from the Vatican expressed "serious reservations" about this policy:
A newly disclosed document reveals that Vatican officials told the bishops of Ireland in 1997 that they had serious reservations about the bishops’ policy of mandatory reporting of priests suspected of child abuse to the police or civil authorities.
The Associated Press on Tuesday reported the contents of the letter, in which the Vatican's top diplomat in Ireland told bishops that their policy of mandatory reporting such cases to police "gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical nature."
The phrase "serious reservations" seems like a strong disapproval to me, and I'm not the only one:
An Irish government-ordered investigation into decades of abuse cover-ups in the Dublin Archdiocese concluded that Irish bishops understood the letter to mean they shouldn't report suspected crimes.
But Vatican officials are now saying that wasn't what they meant:
the Vatican insisted Wednesday that a 1997 letter warning Irish bishops against reporting priests suspected of sex abuse to police had been "deeply misunderstood." [the Vatican] insisted the 1997 letter was only intended to emphasize that Irish bishops must follow church law meticulously. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Holy See wanted to ensure that pedophile priests wouldn't have any technical grounds to escape church punishment on appeal.
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The Vatican expressed serious moral reservations about reporting pedos, but they actually meant don't let pedos get off on a technicality. Yeah. ****ing. Right. I'm disgusted by what happened and I'm disgusted further by this pathetic and blatantly-dishonest backpedaling.
A newly disclosed document reveals that Vatican officials told the bishops of Ireland in 1997 that they had serious reservations about the bishops’ policy of mandatory reporting of priests suspected of child abuse to the police or civil authorities.
The Associated Press on Tuesday reported the contents of the letter, in which the Vatican's top diplomat in Ireland told bishops that their policy of mandatory reporting such cases to police "gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical nature."
The phrase "serious reservations" seems like a strong disapproval to me, and I'm not the only one:
An Irish government-ordered investigation into decades of abuse cover-ups in the Dublin Archdiocese concluded that Irish bishops understood the letter to mean they shouldn't report suspected crimes.
But Vatican officials are now saying that wasn't what they meant:
the Vatican insisted Wednesday that a 1997 letter warning Irish bishops against reporting priests suspected of sex abuse to police had been "deeply misunderstood." [the Vatican] insisted the 1997 letter was only intended to emphasize that Irish bishops must follow church law meticulously. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Holy See wanted to ensure that pedophile priests wouldn't have any technical grounds to escape church punishment on appeal.
Link 1
Link 2
The Vatican expressed serious moral reservations about reporting pedos, but they actually meant don't let pedos get off on a technicality. Yeah. ****ing. Right. I'm disgusted by what happened and I'm disgusted further by this pathetic and blatantly-dishonest backpedaling.
