UNITED STATES
Catholic Online
[On the manner of proceeding in cases of the crime of solicitation (1922) via BishopAccounability.org]
[Crimen Sollicitationis (1962) – via BishopAccountability.org]
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – For most people, why the Church would seemingly cover up the criminal behavior of abusive priests and clergy remains an enduring mystery – and a scandal! It simply makes no sense that the one institution on the planet, with the highest moral authority investment, would do so little to discipline those who abuse children.
For the past century, some priests have largely gone unpunished for their crimes against children, protected by which should be the world’s most trusted institution. Yet since the 1980s and 90s, case after case surfaced that demonstrated the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, meaning its bishops and archbishops, had knowledge of predatory priests, and instead of reporting those priests to the civil authorities, seemed to cover up the crimes and either fire the priests, shuffle them off to seclusion and treatment, or in the worst cases, sent them to other parishes where they continued to abuse children.
Please pray for the victims of abuse in the Church.
Only in rare cases, were the priests actually handed over and prosecuted by the civil authorities. Why was this so?
The answer apparently goes all the way back to Vatican City, and a special decree issued by Pope Pius XI in 1922. That decree reinforced 1,500 years of previous papal decrees upholding what is known as the “privilege of clergy.” The term “privilege” in legal parlance does not refer to special treatment but to a concept within the law of evidence.
Privilege of clergy is a church policy first establish in the fourth century. It holds that the clergy of the Church, when accused of crime, should be disciplined within the Church, rather than by civil institutions.The Church has a Code of Canon Law and a judicial process, including penalties, rules of evidence, and trials established within her – as a part of her internal government as a society in her own right.
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