Clerical abuse!

[T Fearon]

Firstly I salute this Priest.He absolutely did the right thing.But he was shunned by from what I gather were a few individuals acting of their own accord and not according to Church policy.In Ireland if an allegation is made against any priest,the priest is stood down until a full investigation takes place.

The Pope cannot control every single cleric throughout the world.Abuse by a fellow priest was fully revealed by another priest,that is progress and should be applauded,and no emphasis placed on the actions of misguided fools.

[imtommygunn]

The Priest informed the authorities,which was the right thing to do,but was he frozen out for not following Church protocols for informing?

Make up your mind

[Main Street]

Firstly I salute this Priest.He absolutely did the right thing.But he was shunned by from what I gather were a few individuals acting of their own accord and not according to Church policy.In Ireland if an allegation is made against any priest,the priest is stood down until a full investigation takes place.

The Pope cannot control every single cleric throughout the world.Abuse by a fellow priest was fully revealed by another priest,that is progress and should be applauded,and no emphasis placed on the actions of misguided fools.

'Fr Gallagher disregarded the instruction to put Fr Palimattom on a plane to Bangalore.
Instead, he interviewed Fr Palimattom along with a retired police officer, who was one of his parishioners.

Fr Gallagher said he immediately called the Sheriff's Department of the West Palm Beach police, following rules set down by the American Church after hundreds of child sex abuse scandals.

Locks at his parochial house were changed
He was placed on medical leave by his bishop in the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida.

He has written to bishops and cardinals in Ireland and America about the case - as well as Vatican officials - and has, so far, been unable to get a satisfactory response.'

Tony accuses the bishop in Florida, the Cardinal in USA and vatican officials of being misguided fools when most people would attribute their actions of being criminally culpable. Their actions are designed to protect the church from the actions of the self confessed pedophile and punish the person who would protect the children from this monster.
The misguided fools as Tony would call them are actually the stuff of scum without an iota of moral integrity.

[Itchy]

Firstly I salute this Priest.He absolutely did the right thing.But he was shunned by from what I gather were a few individuals acting of their own accord and not according to Church policy.In Ireland if an allegation is made against any priest,the priest is stood down until a full investigation takes place.

The Pope cannot control every single cleric throughout the world.Abuse by a fellow priest was fully revealed by another priest,that is progress and should be applauded,and no emphasis placed on the actions of misguided fools.

'Fr Gallagher disregarded the instruction to put Fr Palimattom on a plane to Bangalore.
Instead, he interviewed Fr Palimattom along with a retired police officer, who was one of his parishioners.

Fr Gallagher said he immediately called the Sheriff's Department of the West Palm Beach police, following rules set down by the American Church after hundreds of child sex abuse scandals.

Locks at his parochial house were changed
He was placed on medical leave by his bishop in the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida.

He has written to bishops and cardinals in Ireland and America about the case - as well as Vatican officials - and has, so far, been unable to get a satisfactory response.'

Tony accuses the bishop in Florida, the Cardinal in USA and vatican officials of being misguided fools when most people would attribute their actions of being criminally culpable. Their actions are designed to protect the church from the actions of the self confessed pedophile and punish the person who would protect the children from this monster.
The misguided fools as Tony would call them are actually the stuff of scum without an iota of moral integrity.

Ah but what were the parents at when this was going on? It is also likely that the bishop, Cardinal and Vatican representative are suffering from the terrible disease known as mental reservation which afflicts many clergymen.

[T Fearon]

In reality they are probably not bad men in any way.Like a lot of humans faced with a problem under pressure,they opt sadly for the easy way out.That is typical of Americans, do first and figure it out later.Thankfully  the priest in question has obviously learned from the mistakes made in his native Ireland and reacted with haste and in the thoroughly proper manner.

He deserves great credit as a truly exemplary Catholic,in common with the vast majority of his fellow catholic clerics across the globe.

[seafoid]

The reaction of his colleagues is, of course, relevant. It demonstrates that they were complicit in the cover-up culture, and that their reaction was the norm.  Apparently the robust protocol is keep your trap shut whatever the human cost.

Yeah and God couldn't care less about lower class kids who were systematically raped by priests all over Europe.

[Hardy]

John Gallagher tells his story in full on Liveline today (from 00:40:00):
http://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=9%3A10519457%3A53%3A26%2D01%2D2016%3A

Amazing testimony and compelling listening. If his story is true (and if it's not, he would make some storyteller) the official church is still operating on the same old basis as ever - cover up, protect the perpetrator, protect the institution, attack, ostracise (and effectively excommunicate) the whistleblower and the victims are still expendable. Except now it's even more sinister as we know now for sure they know what they're doing and they're doing it in the full knowledge of the criminality it represents. And the whole construct of reform, remorse and renewal is a complete sham.

[seafoid]

John Gallagher tells his story in full on Liveline today (from 00:40:00):
http://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=9%3A10519457%3A53%3A26%2D01%2D2016%3A

Amazing testimony and compelling listening. If his story is true (and if it's not, he would make some storyteller) the official church is still operating on the same old basis as ever - cover up, protect the perpetrator, protect the institution, attack, ostracise (and effectively excommunicate) the whistleblower and the victims are still expendable. Except now it's even more sinister as we know now for sure they know what they're doing and they're doing it in the full knowledge of the criminality it represents. And the whole construct of reform, remorse and renewal is a complete sham.

the church has always been about power. people are expendable.

[T Fearon]

Funny that.Hardly a week goes by,that I don't read and hear on tv/radio that a priest has been stood down,pending investigations of allegations made against him.Also each parish has a lay child protection officer,and the Irish church's Child Protection Policies have been independently verified as the most robust in Europe.

Hardly a week goes by either when I don't similarly read or hear of some pervert who masqueraded as a priest or Christian Brother is in the Courts receiving,rightly,a long jail sentence.

That would suggest to me that things have improved immensely.

[seafoid]

Funny that.Hardly a week goes by,that I don't read and hear on tv/radio that a priest has been stood down,pending investigations of allegations made against him.Also each parish has a lay child protection officer,and the Irish church's Child Protection Policies have been independently verified as the most robust in Europe.

Hardly a week goes by either when I don't similarly read or hear of some pervert who masqueraded as a priest or Christian Brother is in the Courts receiving,rightly,a long jail sentence.

That would suggest to me that things have improved immensely.

The cover ups and the lies were systematic . Just reading about the diocese of Fribourg in Switzerland. Teenagers were raped, beaten, denied food, and systematically humiliated. It was orphans of poor families. Church representatives denied everything and threatened legal action against those who brought up the topic. It was just touching without intent. There was no sin. They went to confession and were forgiven. Grotesque.

[Hardy]

Funny that.Hardly a week goes by,that I don't read and hear on tv/radio that a priest has been stood down,pending investigations of allegations made against him.Also each parish has a lay child protection officer,and the Irish church's Child Protection Policies have been independently verified as the most robust in Europe.

Hardly a week goes by either when I don't similarly read or hear of some pervert who masqueraded as a priest or Christian Brother is in the Courts receiving,rightly,a long jail sentence.

That would suggest to me that things have improved immensely.

Things have improved to the extent that clerics and bishops can be thwarted in their cover-up attempts more readily than before. Things have improved because law enforcement is onto these bastards. Listen to the law enforcement official on the clip I linked and then tell me about the level of "co-operation" extended by the church at clerical and episcopal level.

[Main Street]

In reality they are probably not bad men in any way.Like a lot of humans faced with a problem under pressure,they opt sadly for the easy way out.

The easy way out as you put it is not a defense or even an explanation, it is a crime in the USA.

'it is unlawful to willfully or maliciously engage in enabling child sexual abuse by causing, procuring or permitting a willful or malicious act of child sexual abuse of a child under the age of eighteen (18) by another.
Punishment:
Enabling child sexual abuse is punishable by up to life imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections, or by up to one (1) year imprisonment in a county jail and/or a fine between $500 and $5,000.'

Enabling child abuse is defined in the law as,
'means the causing, procuring or permitting of a willful or malicious act of child sexual abuse, as defined by paragraph 6 of subsection B ..... of a child under the age of eighteen (18) by another. As used in this subsection, "permit" means to authorize or allow for the care of a child by an individual when the person authorizing or allowing such care knows or reasonably should know that the child will be placed at risk of sexual abuse as proscribed by this subsection'.

That is typical of Americans, do first and figure it out later.

Ethnic stereotyping?
The evidence is overwhelming  that the crime of  enabling child abuse is not just typically American.

Thankfully  the priest in question has obviously learned from the mistakes made in his native Ireland and reacted with haste and in the thoroughly proper manner.
He deserves great credit as a truly exemplary Catholic,in common with the vast majority of his fellow catholic clerics across the globe.

Rather, thankfully he had the moral courage to stubbornly act in the interests of the child against the force of a determined criminal cover-up by his superiors, his bishop, his cardinal and the suits in the vatican who all actively chose to prevent him from acting to save a child from the  clutches of a pedophile,
or  chose to ignore the priest's persecution.

[No wides]

What's the difference between ISIS and the Catholic Church?  Both use rape and torture to control people all in the name of some God, both are indistinguishable abhorrent organisations who are inevitably only interested in money and self preservation. 

[Hardy]

Funny that.Hardly a week goes by,that I don't read and hear on tv/radio that a priest has been stood down,pending investigations of allegations made against him.Also each parish has a lay child protection officer,and the Irish church's Child Protection Policies have been independently verified as the most robust in Europe.

Hardly a week goes by either when I don't similarly read or hear of some pervert who masqueraded as a priest or Christian Brother is in the Courts receiving,rightly,a long jail sentence.

That would suggest to me that things have improved immensely.

The cover ups and the lies were systematic . Just reading about the diocese of Fribourg in Switzerland. Teenagers were raped, beaten, denied food, and systematically humiliated. It was orphans of poor families. Church representatives denied everything and threatened legal action against those who brought up the topic. It was just touching without intent. There was no sin. They went to confession and were forgiven. Grotesque.

Indeed. But your story is in the past tense. The point is that the abuse, cover-up and thwarting of law enforcement are STILL going on. 2016. Decades of revelations, thousands of convictions and continuous exposés notwithstanding.

Child Protection Policies me arse. The approach still appears to be, "you don't have to tell them everything"; "we usually just put them on a plane back to where they came from"; "you're fired and banned from the sacraments" (this not to the perpetrator but to the priest the (god)fathers regard as a grass).

[Applesisapples]

I'm saying the Catholic Church has robust procedures nowadays for dealing with child abuse,procedures which have been independently endorsed.But the main point is, that whether colleagues shunned him or not,a priest brought these to the attention of the authorities, so the reaction of his colleagues is irrelevant.

So by your standards then the IRA dealt with Maria Cahill in an appropriate manner? I would say that his freezing out was more to do with his white English speaking ethnic background than it was to do with protocol.