The Catholic Church Should Burn

[mikka]

One down (Welby) far too many still to go
https://members.parliament.uk/members/lords?partyid=3

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The archbishop as scapegoat

Whoever is to blame for the Smyth abuse, it isn't Justin Welby

davidaaronovitch.substack.com

Evernote Link

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

You won't have Justin Welby to kick around any more.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Justin Welby let convicted sex offender work at cathedral

The Archbishop of Canterbury allowed Canon John Roberts to continue officiating even after a further allegation of sexual assault

www.thetimes.com

Evernote Link

 

[Free]

/me weeps

New Orleans clergy abuse: details emerge after retired priest admits to kidnapping and child rape

The star witness in a clerical molestation case that has rocked one of the most Catholic cities in the US was going to tell a jury that his high school principal forced him to see a psychiatrist for “anger issues and fantasy stories” – or face expulsion – after reporting that a priest had raped him on campus.

Such shocking testimony was set to be delivered in a criminal trial against the retired priest, 93-year-old Lawrence Hecker, that was scheduled to begin Tuesday in New Orleans. But it was upended when the clergyman unexpectedly pleaded guilty to charges of child rape and kidnapping, a decision that guarantees him a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.

The most complete account yet of the case that state prosecutors in New Orleans were prepared to present against Hecker – after he had long benefited from a complex cover-up largely engineered by his church superiors – is contained in court documents obtained by the Guardian and WWL-TV upon the sudden conclusion of the case.

The stories keep coming out. It never ends.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Doctors abuse their prescription pads, bankers skim, politicians deal under the table, ...

And priests help themselves to as much forgiveness and absolution as they want, and withhold it to get what they want.

There really needs to be extra special punishment for those that abuse their power and indulge their conflicted interests.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

There really needs to be extra special punishment for those that abuse their power and indulge their conflicted interests.

In the sentencing guidelines for England and Wales, "abuse of trust" is a serious aggravating factor for most offences, and certainly for sexual offences. We also have a separate offence, "abuse of a position of trust," primarily designed to protect children aged 16-18, who have reached the age of consent but are still thought to need protection from adults who have particular access to them by virtue of their job, such as teachers, ministers of religion and so on.

Are there no similar provisions in the US?

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

In the sentencing guidelines for England and Wales, "abuse of trust" is a serious aggravating factor for most offences, and certainly for sexual offences. We also have a separate offence, "abuse of a position of trust," primarily designed to protect children aged 16-18, who have reached the age of consent but are still thought to need protection from adults who have particular access to them by virtue of their job, such as teachers, ministers of religion and so on.

Are there no similar provisions in the US?

There is!

So many of our legal standards are copied from English common law. Our sentencing guidelines are just in general harsher than yours as we talked about before.

But I know in practice many US judges give very light sentencing to abusive priests out of sympathy for the priest who is often the same religion as the judge.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

There is!

So many of our legal standards are copied from English common law. Our sentencing guidelines are just in general harsher than yours as we talked about before.

But I know in practice many US judges give very light sentencing to abusive priests out of sympathy for the priest who is often the same religion as the judge.

Our judges are very much bound by the sentencing guidelines (and, of course, it's only the one court system, even though Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own laws, rather than state vs federal). Judges are required to explain their sentence with reference to the sentencing guidelines and to explain why they're departing from them if they do. And over here both the prosecution can appeal against unduly lenient sentences if they think the judge has misapplied the guidelines.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

More from the Archbishop of Canterbury

Senior clergy accuses Archbishop Welby of ‘making light’ of abuse victims in speech

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley said speech by the outgoing head of the Church of England was disturbing and disrespectful to Church abuse survivors

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Are there no similar provisions in the US?

For some crimes... but in my limited experience with them, they're little more than a slap on the wrist with an implied 'tsk, don't make it so obvious next time you idiot.'

 

[Innula Zenovka]

For some crimes... but in my limited experience with them, they're little more than a slap on the wrist with an implied 'tsk, don't make it so obvious next time you idiot.'

Often when I read about such cases it seems that the prosecution has agreed to a plea bargain on extremely generous terms. Obviously it's the prosecution who bring the case and it's for them to decide what they want to prove, and I can accept that they may well want to spare complainants, particularly minors, the ordeal of giving evidence, particularly since US criminal procedure doesn't seem to offer complainants much protection in this kind of case. But often I think the prosecution seem as much to blame as the judge.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Archbishop of York urged to resign over ‘failure to remove sex abuser’

Stephen Cottrell is due to take over as temporary leader of the Church of England when Justin Welby steps down as Archbishop of Canterbury in January

www.thetimes.com

Evernote Link

 

[Free]

Should we start a new thread titled "The Anglican Church Should Burn?"

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Should we start a new thread titled "The Anglican Church Should Burn?"

Way back when this thread started I expressed my reservations about the title, on the grounds that the sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults by people (generally men) exploiting their positions of trust and authority, and then abusers then being protected by their employers, is by no means unique to the Catholic church.

 

[Rose Karuna]

Should we start a new thread titled "The Anglican Church Should Burn?"

Maybe just make it "The Church Should Burn"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_abuse_cases_in_Southern_Baptist_churches

More people in power abusing their power.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Maybe just make it "The Church Should Burn"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_abuse_cases_in_Southern_Baptist_churches

More people in power abusing their power.

And secular institutions like schools and children's homes.

 

[Free]

I might be down for "Civilization Should Burn," except that I'm part of it.

 

[Beebo Brink]

I might be down for "Civilization Should Burn," except that I'm part of it.

There's no evidence that we were any better before we developed civilization. There were just far fewer of us doing harmful things to each other.

 

[Free]

There's no evidence that we were any better before we developed civilization. There were just far fewer of us doing harmful things to each other.

I lose if I lose my internet and internet devices.