Clerical abuse!

Started by D4S, May 20, 2009, 05:09:14 PM

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We all know this disgusting scandal is as a result of The Church and The State, but who do you hold mostly accountable, and should therefore pay out the most in compensation to victims?

The State
The Church
Split 50/50

T Fearon

Rubbish.Like most human beings faced with a complex problem they instinctively moved the problem on,hoping someone else would deal with it,not thinking through the full implications.Mistaken,misguided but not facilitating child abuse.

The fact is a catholic cleric had the courage to deal with the problem head on,so regardless of the reaction of a few out of touch clerics around him,a church member did what was right.Thats what I call a result.

Oraisteach

Tony, did you actually listen to the interview that Hardy posted?

Fr. Gallagher wasn't just spurned by a handful of fearful colleagues.  He was victimized by his bishop, stripped of his right to say Mass and administer Communion, stripped of his income and place of abode, and given the cold shoulder by higher-ups, all the way to the Vatican.  This incident, and the Church's response, is very, very disheartening, and makes a mockery of the "Zero Tolerance" policy.  If the Church were being honest, they should reinstate this good man and remove from office those who obstructed him and banished him.  Sadly, this further damages the perception of the Church as an institution, making it appear as little more than a collection of liars.  No one in the Church has stood up for him, he says.  Very depressing.

I'm curious to know the reaction of the parishioners.  Perhaps FL/MAYO has more information.

T Fearon

I would certainly like to know more details on this.Did the priest in question jump the gun,hunting for glory.Had his superiors policies in place which they were following? It is incredulous after all the bad press,that anyone within the Church would willingly risk further damaging the church's reputation by not acting in the right fashion.

Itchy

Quote from: T Fearon on January 28, 2016, 10:14:51 PM
I would certainly like to know more details on this.Did the priest in question jump the gun,hunting for glory.Had his superiors policies in place which they were following? It is incredulous after all the bad press,that anyone within the Church would willingly risk further damaging the church's reputation by not acting in the right fashion.

There has to be a problem with this Gallagher priest. Either that or the parents were to blame. One thing we can all agree on is the Vatican, cardinals and bishops were 100% honest and decent in the matter.

T Fearon

You would have to admit,anyone,and in particular a Cardinal in the modern church trying in any way to conceal child abuse in this day and age would need to be unbelievably stupid.I certainly welcome the fact that the priest informed the authorities,but am not aware of the full facts.Could he have been frozen out for another reason altogether and has an axe to grind? You know the way nationalist politicians cried "Sectarianism" when unionists quite rightly refused to sanction a new leisure facility in Dungiven until clarity on funding was forthcoming,but the same unionists were happy to reverse the decision and sanction the project today when full funding was assured?

J70

Quote from: T Fearon on January 28, 2016, 09:22:58 PM
Rubbish.Like most human beings faced with a complex problem they instinctively moved the problem on,hoping someone else would deal with it,not thinking through the full implications.Mistaken,misguided but not facilitating child abuse.

The fact is a catholic cleric had the courage to deal with the problem head on,so regardless of the reaction of a few out of touch clerics around him,a church member did what was right.Thats what I call a result.

If that's the case, the church hierarchy must have been packed with people of below average intelligence if they had no clue that a child abusing priest might hurt other kids if moved on.


Oraisteach

I don't know much about it either, apart from the interview that Hardy posted, an Internet article, and what's posted on here, but following Fr. Gallagher's action, the perp confessed, was jailed and was subsequently deported to India.  So, what I do know is true.

Interesting, then, Tony, that your first reaction is to cast a sinister shadow over the priest and give all sorts of leeway to the church, though the latter of the two, as far as we know, is the only one that has covered up a veritable Everest of child abuse.

A little humility on your part might restore a smidgin of respect for your opinions.  Casting imagined aspersions on the priest is shameful, however, and you would be better served believing him, who has exhibited a moral backbone, as opposed to giving credence to an institution that has repeatedly shown the moral firmness of Jelly.

Until I am presented with evidence to the contrary, I'm siding with the priest.  You remind me of the lawyer who seeks to humiliate and destroy the rape victim, and will say anything to get his slimy client off.

As a Catholic, I am heartbroken by the abuse that has occurred, but even more so, if that's possible, by clerics complicit in cover-ups. 

Main Street

Quote from: T Fearon on January 28, 2016, 10:14:51 PM
I would certainly like to know more details on this.Did the priest in question jump the gun,hunting for glory.Had his superiors policies in place which they were following? It is incredulous after all the bad press,that anyone within the Church would willingly risk further damaging the church's reputation by not acting in the right fashion.
The story has been repeated ad nauseaum here  and finally you express that you might want to know more ::)
Just deny it straight out Tony, save yourself the bluff of appearing to want  to  "know more details".
You have your particular reputation to maintain.
I certainly would be worried  for the state of the universe if you suddenly claimed to know the difference between a mere mistake and a serious criminal action.



No wides

Quote from: T Fearon on January 28, 2016, 09:22:58 PM
Rubbish.Like most human beings faced with a complex problem they instinctively moved the problem on,hoping someone else would deal with it,not thinking through the full implications.Mistaken,misguided but not facilitating child abuse.

The fact is a catholic cleric had the courage to deal with the problem head on,so regardless of the reaction of a few out of touch clerics around him,a church member did what was right.Thats what I call a result.

What bullshit they moved these monsters on to save their corrupt religion and knew full well these evil men would continue to rape, torture and abuse young, innocent, vulnerable children.  To say they had courage to deal with the problem head on is like saying the BBC has the courage now to take sexual assault charges serious following the Saville ordeal.

T Fearon

I have already commended the priest for his actions.And if he has been frozen out because of these then those other so called clerics should be excommunicated.But I am just wondering if this is the full story?

FL/MAYO

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/disapointed-diocese-issues-lengthy-defense-to-whis/nqFJC/
Diocese issues lengthy defense to whistleblower's claims
Posted: 6:50 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016
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By Jorge Milian - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer


For the second time this week, the Diocese of Palm Beach issued a powerful rejection of claims made by a priest that he had been "frozen out" of the church after informing authorities that a colleague showed pornographic material to a minor.

Widening its defense against the assertions of Father John Gallagher, the Palm Beach Gardens-based diocese on Thursday defended its record in reporting and combating sexual abuse by priests since 2002, when the second bishop in four years departed over a sex scandal.

+'Disapointed' diocese issues lengthy defense to whistleblower's claims photo MELANIE BELL
Bishop Gerald Barbarito, of the Diocese of Palm Beach, leads the St. Edward Catholic Church consecration in January 2015. Assisting him ... Read More
"As a Catholic Church, we apologize for the grave harm that has been inflicted on any victims by clergy or church personnel. Words alone cannot express our sorrow, shame and disappointment for the past," the statement said. "The church is indebted to victims of abuse who have come forward. Their witness has allowed the healing process to begin and has made the church safer for all families."

Citing a national training program, the diocese said since 2002 it has had 30,000 clergy, religious and lay people complete the "Protecting God's Children" workshop and said it put the same number through background screening.

The statement headlined "Disheartened diocese provides multi-page response to allegations made by Fr. Gallagher," said the diocese reveals allegations of sexual abuse to the state attorney's office and followed protocol in the case cited by Gallagher involving a visiting priest from India, Jose Palimattom.

+'Disapointed' diocese issues lengthy defense to whistleblower's claims photo ALLEN EYESTONE
Father John Gallagher thumbs through documents he has collected since blowing the whistle on a pedophile priest. Gallagher says has been ... Read More
Gallagher, however, said he had been locked out of his parochial house at Holy Name of Jesus Christ Catholic Church in West Palm Beach several months after the January 2015 incident involving Palimattom, who was convicted. He said he was passed over for promotion at Holy Name and transferred to a Stuart church after he refused to put the priest on a plane rather than report him to law enforcement. Gallagher could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Earlier this week, the diocese responded to the charges by saying that Gallagher was a liar in "need of professional assistance."

"Father Gallagher was not in any way demoted or removed because of the incident," the diocese said Thursday.

+'Disapointed' diocese issues lengthy defense to whistleblower's claims photo PBSO
Father Jose Palimattom, booking photo by PBSO, after his arrest in January 2015.
It was Gallagher who "ignored" church protocol for reporting sexual abuse against a minor, the statement said. Those guidelines mandate that sexual abuse allegations be immediately reported to an abuse hotline and then to the diocese.

The diocese also said Gallagher invited Palimattom, whose screening made no mention of past sexual abuse. After his arrest, Palimattom told investigators he had been reprimanded for a relationship with a minor male in India.

Diocese strikes back against priest's assertions
Whistleblower priest claims Palm Beach Diocese forced him out
Staff writer Joe Capozzi contributed to this story.
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T Fearon

I suspected there was more to this.I'll not hold my breath waiting for the anti Catholics to admit they were wrong,and retract their comments.

T Fearon

#1903
Symptoms of incurable anti-Catholicism.

Believe a priest when he says child abuse in church is still being covered up- otherwise don't believe a word he says on any other subject.

React angrily and irrationally  to a statement from one individual priest when he says he was frozen out for exposing child abuse,without establishing the full facts.

Get orgasmic when you read about unverified allegations of child abuse in the Catholic Church.

Itchy

Does that statement not just prove Father Gallaghers point? The bit where they say that he needs help! Throw mud at the whistleblower, always works when you have gullible fools like Tony Fearon about.