...OK folks. This story is the first phase of a possible RICO action against the Church. Any significant findings by DOJ which leads to charges, could impact the Churches tax exemption status, possible asset seizures, regardless of any criminal charges against individual Church leaders. Keep an eye on this. No more from me on this because a few posters reject the idea that this Catholic issue could impact other religious organizations, which it could...think JW.

“Every diocese should assume that it is potentially under investigation,” said Marci A. Hamilton, a law professor and founder of CHILD USA, a think tank at the University of Pennsylvania that studies child sexual abuse and prevention. “Given the crisscrossing paths of priests sent from one diocese to another across the United States, I can understand why someone in Washington would say, ‘O.K., everybody needs to hold onto their evidence right now because we’re just starting to sketch out where the pedophiles have been sent by the hierarchy.’”

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Zn6pzdpySs/W9LEg_kNvRI/AAAAAAAAUD4/GbvjyV0hop4MUhuDfveu19WiBAyyrnbjACLcBGAs/s1600/usjdnd.jpg

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/federal-government-tells-catholic-bishops-not-to-destroy-sex-abuse-documents/ar-BBOXgxB

From all that I have heard from devout lay Catholics I know, they will applaud this action.

They want the filth cleaned up and tossed out. They want justice for the victims, and are sick and tired of those clergy who are responsible for the filth

It would be nice if the same scrutiny were to be placed on Mormonism, but I dopn't hold out much hope at present. It appears that the big break happened when a critical mass of active Catholics started demanding accountability and stopped giving someone a free pass just because he had the title of priest. IMO it will be many, many years before practicing Mormons reach the same stage.

Catholics have the "fortune" or "misfortune" of having filth in the history of Catholicism with it's clergy over the millennia. They don't buy the idea that being a cleric is an automatic pass regardless of rank be it priest, bishop or pope.

Filth is filth and they are fed up. At least here in the States and even parts of South America.

They want and are even demanding accoutability. Holding back $$ too, until they are satisfied

I think the same scrutiny will be applied. Religions are not exempt from professional standards. This is exactly the thing Sam Young tried to warn the church about. If the RCC isn’t above the law, TSCC definitely isn’t. It’s not about the law now, but where the law will be in 10 or 20 years. If TSCC doesn’t fix itself now, it’s looking at big payouts later. Now where did I put that popcorn?

This could absolutely influence other churches. Churches in the States enjoy a presumption of goodwill, a presumption of state support under the First Amendment. Legal actions like this not only undermine the legitimacy of those presumptions, they also clarify the line between religious freedom and secular law.

On the broader point of whether Catholics are driving the reforms, I am highly skeptical. The vast majority of believers have either been silent on abuse or murmured but done nothing about it; they are, in effect, fellow travelers. Those seeking legal redress have been a small number of people in the civil courts and a larger number of public prosecutors, with the latter are the ones having the most significant impact.

There is, to be sure, among Catholics something of a retrospective sympathy for the legal initiatives others have taken, a recognition that crimes against kids are in fact unacceptable, but that is a lagging indicator. The leading indicators are prosecutions initiated by government agents. It's the usual story: people look away for decades or centuries, then when someone does something about evil the rest jump on the bandwagon. It's a bit like Germany after World War Two: suddenly everyone had always been a member of the resistance.

I am not saying Catholics are better or worse than society in general. But the Catholic Church is indeed a "Corrupt Organization" for the purposes of the RICO act; and the Mormon Church, on a lesser scale, is comparable. It will be good when society recognizes generally that tolerating and covering up child abuse is not protected religion but rather simple organized corruption.

That is when churches will clean up their collective act.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2018 10:02PM by Lot's Wife.

“Legal actions like this not only undermine the legitimacy of those presumptions, they also clarify the line between religious freedom and secular law.”

Which makes the church’s intransigence even more puzzling. Oaks is first counselor and BYU has a decent law school. Why can’t they see the writing on the wall?

It’s like they can’t resist throwing stones in their own glass house. The prudent thing would to be proactive, to head off germinating financial catastrophe. Maybe that’s all factored into the business model, but I think not. Tax exemption is a privilege, not a right. It’s a vital part of their business strategy. Wally could have a point about the church being deliberately run aground. Blowing up tax exempt status would solve many PR headaches as well as make a select few very rich.

In fact, I very much like that theory. TSCC has been a den of thieves from the beginning. Why not have them turn on each other?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2018 10:52PM by babyloncansuckit.

Why was this not done 30 years ago ?