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February 11, 2005
If you've got a minute...
Head on over to "The Thing Is" and read Justin Torres' commentary on the situation in Dallas.
Sharp.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
I wish Rod and Justin and everyone else fighing the good fight in Dallas the best. They have my prayers and support, but they will not have from me any rage at the bishops generally or the institutional Church at large.
Reading Justin's posts left me saddened about the Dallas situation. But it didn't leave me with the negative visceral reaction that I get when I read the writings of others (on both the left and right) who use such very legitimate problems as a basis for attacking the bishops as a group and for implying that the American church is rotten to the core, which from my experience I know is not true.
Justin is properly focusing on specific problems in a specific diocese and calling for specific action. We need more of that and less carping like old women.
Posted by: Cornelius AMDG at Feb 11, 2005 5:07:09 PM
Justin points to a very important aspect--the Texas Catholic's own assurance in 2002 "that the personnel files of every priest had been reviewed "for any indication of violations of state laws relating to minors." No priests "who were found in this category" remained in active ministry, according to the Texas Catholic."
Of course, that's not exactly what the USCCB's norms indicates that the Bishops have pledged to do when they "pledged to evaluate the background of seminary applicants as well as all church personnel who have responsibility for the care and supervision of children and young people."
In fact, the standard for such examination was specifically described to exceed the "violations of state laws": "Sexual abuse has been defined by different civil authorities in various ways, and these norms do not adopt any particular definition provided in civil law. Rather, the transgressions in question relate to obligations arising from divine commands regarding human sexual interaction as conveyed to us by the sixth commandment of the Decalogue. Thus, the norm to be considered in assessing an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is whether conduct or interaction with a minor qualifies as an external, objectively grave violation of the sixth commandment (USCCB, Canonical Delicts Involving Sexual Misconduct and Dismissal from the Clerical State, 1995, p. 6). A canonical offence against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue (CIC, c. 1395 §2; CCEO, c. 1453 §1) need not be a complete act of intercourse. Nor, to be objectively grave, does an act need to involve force, physical contact, or a discernible harmful outcome."
Now, putting to the side for the moment the Bishop's public assertion that he did not honor this pledge in the case of Fr. Richard, there is a very interesting, or distubing gap between these two standards. . .
Posted by: al at Feb 11, 2005 5:15:59 PM
