April 16, 2010
Of Priests and Pedophiles
According to the experts, the sexual abuse of children happens more often than you might think. Child rape by Catholic priests is especially abhorrent, considering the role that the Catholic Church — for that matter, every religion — should be taking in eradicating pedophilia. But where the Church of Rome continues to obstruct justice for criminal priests the courts will have to intervene. To talk about these issues I turned to the distinguished lawyer Marci Hamilton, author most recently of Justice Denied
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CounterPunch today has a wider view:
http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen04162010.html
[I think David Rosen is quite mistaken. The New York Times is following the forcing events that have publicized the scandal, not leading them. If it hadn't reported on the scandal while other news outlets did it would have been seen to be culpable of journalistic malpractice. And don't forget: the scandal will continue to get worse so long as there's more to disclose. All the evidence suggests the Vatican will fight disclosure right to the bitter end. g.]
Posted by: EJK | April 17, 2010 10:28 AM
Thanks for addressing this topic so thoughtfully here at EP. I've got a comment to make about your use of the word justice. Your guest included the word in her book's title. And throughout your conversation, Dr. Hamilton spoke often of justice. But in these cases of abuse/coverup, what would such justice look like, I wonder? Don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting that "legal justice" shouldn't be pursued by every means conceivable. But the innocence of youth, stolen from these victims simply cannot be regained. For violations already committed, then, no amount of retribution, legal or otherwise, can repair the damage that's been done. The suggestion that true justice can even be sought AFTER such a crime has been committed, in itself, almost implicitly downplays the severity of the crime. What Dr. Hamilton and others are pursuing, then, is moreso a campaign for the prevention of further crimes, as opposed to being some sort of effort in justice-seeking, is it not? And such a campaign should be invited by all seekers of the truth.
Posted by: herbert | April 25, 2010 8:50 PM