Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Catholic Church Hierarchy Also Sux

A jury in Burlington, VT has awarded $8.7 million to a former altar boy who was fondled by a priest between 1976 and 1978. The whole story is here.

According to the story, these are the facts:
This priest had been hired by the diocese in Burlington, which was aware of previous molestations in Massachusetts and Indiana, as well as molestations in another Vermont town.
He was not fired until 1978, when parents complained to the Bishop, and he is now retired and was not named in the lawsuit.
The current Bishop, Salvatore Matano, says the "looming predicament [of the church] is a":
sad and tragic moment in our history.

He also whines that:
the verdict as it stands will have a very serious impact on a rural diocese; a small, rural diocese.

And:
I do not want in any way to inflict any suffering or any pain upon the faithful in this diocese because of what happened in the past.


My questions are these:

Which is the tragic moment of this story?
A) When the church which placed this known molester in contact with these young men was forced to pay damages to one of them.
OR
B) When the young man named in the suit and several other young men were molested by the known molester, while performing their duties as altar boys.

Which occurance most likely had a more serious impact on the MEMBERS of that diocese?
A) When the church which placed this known molester in contact with these young men was forced to pay damages to one of them, possibly causing financial difficulties for the CHURCH.
OR
B) When the young man named in the suit and several other young men were molested by the known molester.

Which occurance most likely inflicted suffering and pain on the faithful of the diocese?
A) When the church which placed this known molester in contact with these young men was forced to pay damages to one of them.
OR
B) When the young man named in the suit as well as several other young men were FUCKING MOLESTED AT CHURCH, BEING ALTAR BOYS, EXHIBITING THEIR FAITH ALONG WITH THEIR FAMILIES.

And this comment about this being in the past! Do they not think this man remembers this every day of his life? Do they not wonder if any of the young men have had ongoing problems stemming from the abuse they suffered as youths? WTF?

All that said, maybe one of the saddest parts of this story are two of the comments on the Burlington Free News page (linked above), which are:
O'Heel [plaintiff's name is O'Neill] is allegedly a Catholic, a very greedy one and a traitor to his faith. God will punish him and his long wagon train of money grubbing plantiffs [sic].

Children and famalies [sic] will suffer because of this case.

and
Well...not suprising [sic] however I am sure after 8.7 Million he has forgotten all about it...what was I in burlington [sic] for? I am sure he is asking. SOmeday [sic] O'Neil [and sic] and this person will have to answer for this...till then


So, the priest who molested several young men over almost a decade, with the knowledge and connivance of the church hierarchy is fine and dandy with these individuals, but the young men, especially Mr. O'Neill, will be punished by God?

So, children and families who suffered and are most likely still suffering the effects of the molestations by this man who not only broke his holy vows, but also betrayed the trust of the faithful children and families involved in the molestations are meaningless, but the poor church that may have to sell some of its stock or pony up some of its vast sums of money so that it can continue to serve children and families has been WRONGED and BETRAYED.

So, Mr. O'Neill and the other young men and their families will FORGET they were molested by a trusted representative of their church if money is thrown at them?

Ridiculous and frightening. I don't believe the Jesus story, but these people do, and I would love to ask them who Jesus would be more likely to favor - the wealthy church, shielding this priest who was betraying the trust of faithful and innocent young men, or the young men themselves?

If the church "serves" its flock in this manner, who needs that kind of service?

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