Turn from your evil ways

One of my friends has repeatedly asked me to comment on the Grand Jury Report released by the District Attorney of Philadelphia. See report here. He feels that the District Attorney abused her discretion in releasing the 418 page report. If no criminal charges are being filed, he feels it is wrong to publicize the evidence of clergy conduct. Perhaps the District Attorney thinks it is outrageous that in Philadelphia, sexual abuse crimes against children have statutes of limitation but parking tickets do not.

I have always felt that the best lawyering is done behind the scenes. Many people forget that just a few short months ago, the District Attorney was ready to indict the Cardinal who was the Archbishop of Philadelphia. Was the decision not to indict and instead file a report, the result of an “agreement” between the Archdiocese and the District Attorney? If so, while dioceses in other American cities including Boston are paying out millions of dollars to settle clergy abuse cases, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is off scot-free, a truly cheap economic resolution that saves millions of dollars but no souls.

We now know that as a result of this “agreement” 45,000 pages of secret church records that document the clergy abuse of hundreds of children were not released. I suspect, if the truth were told, in other towns, the church officials were informed that if the clergy abuse cases are not settled, that indictments will follow. The cost of this agreement, if it were an agreement, will be more expensive than the cost paid in those catholic communities where real dollars are being spent.

Copyrighted 2005

Religion