Bishops ask taxpayers to fund research on pedophile priests. Just cooperate with subpoenas, testify under oath, and no study would be needed

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By Kay Ebeling

In St. Anthony Messenger released this morning an interview explains the Catholic Church's next step in bandaging its hemorrhage with pedophile priests, by doing a study as to why there are pedophile priests. The Roman Catholic Church wants American taxpayers to pay for its research.

"We’ve made applications to several federal agencies that would ordinarily fund studies of this kind, like the Centers for Disease Control," says Judge Michael R. Merz, the current chair of the Catholic's own National Review Board, in the November issue of the Catholic's own magazine released this morning.

Come on, bishops. Stop hiding behind the First Amendment and priest-penitent privilege every time someone asks a question as to what you knew about pedophiles proliferating in the inner sanctums of the church. Or fire the PR Firms and three fourths of the lawyers the bishops hire to fight the crime victims, and the Church will have plenty of money to fund its studies.

Shoot, just tell the truth and you do not need to do any study.

Of course Americans HAVE been spared the expense of civil trials re pedophile priests, with settlements reached just in time to keep bishops from testifying. And the same taxpayers are also spared any expense for criminal trials, because the Catholic Church hides behind the statute of limitations to keep from answering anything, in most cases.

In fact, if the church cooperated with public prosecutors and civil attorneys, the Review Board could use that documentation to do its study, and the truth would have been found out by now through civil and criminal trials.

Instead, The Church turns to American Taxpayers to pay for its study on why pedophiles seem to proliferate in Catholic Churches -

NO WAY -

Not until the church opens its files, turns over documents, stops having bishops answer “I don't remember” to every question in a deposition,

AND when the church starts paying taxes on some of its structures like parking lots -

The church bleeds cash in settlements to a small portion of victims, the ones with the most blatant and easily prosecutable cases. The settlements surrepticiously stop victims from talking.

The Church carries briefcases full of cash to myriad PR firms and consultants to convince the public the church is still benign.

Instead of just being benign.

Of course this is the same institution that thinks firing pedophile priests and turning them loose on society with no monitoring is somehow sacrificial and compromising on the part of the church.

Not only do the defrocked pedophile priests have free reign to find children anywhere in the world, American taxpayers support them as they are unemployable and usually end up on Social Security and Medicare

The church needs to take off this smiling face image it is paying millions to PR firms to propagate, and start wearing the same scowl worn by most of the crime victims, while facing the reality of the crimes committed:

Serial sodomy on hundreds maybe thousands of young boys who thought they were being prepared for the priesthood,

The same patterns of crime committed in thousands of cities across the country as priests used their position to insinuate themselves on families and rape the children

Refusal to turn over documents to Grand Juries or testify truthfully under oath when subpoenaed.

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If the church wants to prove it is facing its problem:

Stop coddling the criminal priests and above.

Start offering significant treatment and services to crime victims

Acknowledge the true nature of the crimes, open up your files and stop lying.

Don’t ask taxpayers to fund a study and tell us it is more good works by a gospel preaching church.

Here is the entire quote:

Q. Was it the seminary training they had?

A. The preponderance of offenders reported in the “Nature and Scope” study are priests who were trained before Vatican II. Nobody coming out of the seminary immediately began abusing. There’s a lapse time for everybody. And we’ve got to figure out why.

That is why it is really important to do a serious social-science study of the pattern, instead of accepting people’s off-the-cuff explanations, like suggesting that the sexual revolution hit Catholic priests the same as everyone else, but 10 years later. Or suggesting this all could have been avoided if Catholic priests were allowed to marry. Or suggesting gay priests be eliminated. None of these things will explain the data we now have

Q. Is the reason for the upcoming “Causes and Context” study?

A. Yes, that’s precisely what we’re studying. The “Causes and Context” study is ongoing, but needs more funding. The bishops pledged a million dollars for this study, and have already released, I think, $400,000. There are other sources from which we are trying to raise the money. We’ve made applications to several federal agencies that would ordinarily fund studies of this kind, like the Centers for Disease Control. And we have made some requests to various foundations and individuals who are known to contribute to Catholic causes. So at present we are not expecting to have to go back to the bishops for more money.

The entire interview is at (Have barf bag handy, they never mention that religious order priests are not covered by the Dallas Charter, by the way):

http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/Nov2008/feature3.asp

Onward. . .