It seems like a divine coincidence that two separate juries in the state of Pennsylvania rendered guilty verdicts yesterday in cases related to the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church and at Penn state.
The Catholic Church
A few years ago, revelations about the nature and scope of sexual abuse by priests gave the impression that the Catholic Church in America was being run by a syndicate of pedophile enablers. By contrast, the moral indignation European priests cast at their brethren in America back then gave the impression that the Catholic Church in Europe was wholly without sin in this respect…
Well, there are dirty little secrets coming out of the closet in churches all over Europe today – most notably in the Pope’s home country of Germany. And these revelations give the impression that the ecumenical council of the Catholic Church not only condoned but actually enabled a culture of pederasty that would make Sodom and Gomorrah seem chaste. Which gives a whole new meaning to Christ’s exhortation to “suffer the little children to come on to Me.”
Even worse, no less a person than the Pope has been implicated.
(“Pope Accused of Harboring Pedophile Priest,” The iPINIONS Journal, March 16, 2010)
There is overwhelming evidence that the Catholic Church is still engaged in a centuries-long cover-up of the abuse of little boys by Catholic priests. Therefore, it reflects a cardinal sin of omission that yesterday’s conviction of Monsignor William Lynn was the first time in U.S. history any church official has been held to account. After all, we all know that he’s the least of those responsible for this cover-up.
Monsignor William Lynn helped the archdiocese keep predators in ministry, and the public in the dark, by telling parishes their priests were being removed for health reasons and then sending the men to unsuspecting churches.
(Associated Press, June 22, 2012)
In any case, who knew that papal indulgences are granted more to pedophile priests than to rich hedonists….
Meanwhile, that Lynn faces only three to seven years in prison seems like the proverbial slap on the wrist.
Penn State
Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach of the storied Nittany Lions football team, used a group home he founded for troubled boys as a plucking ground for his pedophile pleasure…
All of the top officials associated with the team/university, most notably 84-year-old Head Coach Joe Paterno, allegedly knew about this abuse almost from the outset, but decided not to report it to the police…
Instead of wasting what little moral outrage I can still muster on child-sex abusers, I just react by wishing them a fair trial followed by a lifetime in prison having ‘big’ men do to them what they did to little children. And Sandusky will surely get his…
(“Penn State’s Catholic Church Problem, The iPINIONS Journal, November 10, 2011)
And so he will. Because Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of child-sex abuse ranging from terrorizing little boys in his charge to anally raping them repeatedly over many years.
This 68-year-old pervert faces up to 442 years in prison. And chances are very good that the judge will sentence him to every one of them.
NOTE: Alas, Paterno is dead. But I am heartened that prosecutors have declared their intent to prosecute every university official who conspired to cover up Sandusky’s predatory behavior at Penn State. I just wish the same were true about the intent of those prosecuting every incidence of child-sex abuse in the Catholic Church.
Related commentaries:
Pope accused of harboring pedophile priest…
Penn State’s Catholic Church problem