"April 10, 2010-A
letter from 1985 shows Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- the future Pope
Benedict XVI -- actively delayed in defrocking a priest who had been
charged with molesting several young boys. One reason, according to the
letter, which is signed by Ratzinger, is that the Vatican needed to
"consider the good of the Universal Church."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125803561
Imagine you occupy a high-ranking position within the Roman Catholic church, and it is your duty to address allegations of pedophilia involving Catholic priests. In recent years, odds are you'd be hard pressed to make time for a vacation.
In the last few weeks, documents have surfaced that seem to indicate prior to his appointment as the Holy Father, then Cardinal Ratzinger delayed the defrocking of a priest charged with molesting boys. Should we be outraged? Doesn't Pope Benedict deserve some sort of reprimand, or owe someone an apology? I submit no, he does not.
Consider what we have been exposed to throughout this course, which I believe can be surmised in one word: DOUBT.
I remain in some sort of psychological Purgatory on my position or regard for the criminal justice system. Things that I thought could be trusted, have been demonstrated to be untrustworthy. Protocol and procedures I believed to be reliable and valid have been shown to be unreliable and false. Issues that I previously thought to be "cut and dry" have been observed to be "loosey goosey".
In short, the "good guys" don't seem as good, and the "bad guys" don't seem as bad anymore. There is always more to every story than anyone could ever know.
Back to the issue at hand, I submit the following scenarios, and plan to circle back to the Holy See.
SCENARIO #1:
Father Kiesle manipulates and endangers 6 young boys, molests them, gets caught, and pleads no contest to the charges. This scenario is essentially what is presented in the article linked above. "Bad guy" is caught, justice is served.
SCENARIO#2:
During one of the "darker" times in the history of Psychology as a discipline, the creation of false memories of previous abuse were not that uncommon. Dr. Samuel Saint, a young, aspiring, and charismatic school psychologist reads an article in the Times about a Catholic priest facing sexual abuse charges. Samuel knows that many of the children in his school attend catechism classes at Our Lady of the Rosary parish, where Father Kiesle is a priest.
Over the next few weeks, Samuel starts to pay close attention to the boys who frequently attend classes at Our Lady of the Rosary parish, and notices one of the boys, Nathan, is very quiet and distant, almost melancholy. He asks Nathan's teacher, Mrs. Beckett about his performance in classes. Mrs. Beckett tells Samuel "Nathan used to be one of my best students, always engaged in classwork, very eager to learn" she explained. "In the last few months though, Nathan's performance has plummeted. I've sent a few letters to his parents, asking about his situation at home, and offering extra help, but I've never received a response".
"Hmmm, something seems wrong here" Samuel thinks to himself, stirring a cup of stale Maxwell House in the teachers lounge. Samuel writes a quick note to Mrs. Beckett, and drops it in her mailbox, asking her if she would mind sending Nathan to his office for a few minutes Thursday at first recess.
In the days leading up to his meeting with Nathan, Samuel spends hours investigating pedophilia. He reads accounts about the ways children are manipulated, and told to keep quiet. He trudges through transcripts taken from interviews with convicted sex offenders, that reveal in tragic detail how these offenders touched, molested, and abused their victims. In a phone call to his mother, Samuel remembers saying "If I find out one of my students has EVER been abused like this, I'm going to find the son of a b----- who did it, and make them pay".
Thursday morning, Mrs. Beckett peeks through the mini-blinds covering Samuels' office door, and Samuel motions her in. "Nathan is here to see you Dr. Saint". Nathan was wearing a red and yellow checkered shirt with what appeared to be a grape jelly stain on the sleeve.
"Hi Nathan, I'm Sam, thanks for coming to see me" Samuel says in an upbeat voice. "I've been speaking with Mrs. Beckett, and she tells me you're usually a great student, but lately you haven't been doing as well as she thinks you can. My job here at the school is to talk to students, find out how they're doing, and see if there is anything we can help with" he explained. "Has anything out of the ordinary happened that may be affecting your schoolwork?"
"No, everything is fine" Nathan replied quickly. "Oh, well that's good to hear" said Samuel. "You go to Our Lady of the Rosary right?" he asked Nathan. "I used to, but I don't go anymore". Samuel could feel his pulse through his shirt, "Why don't you go anymore Nathan?". "Can I go to recess now?" Nathan asked. "Sure, but would you mind meeting with me again next week? I'd like to get to know you a little better, and if you come back you can have anything you want out of my candy jar" Samuel said quickly. "Yeah, okay" replied Nathan.
As Nathan walked to the playground, he wished that his Dad had never lost his job. He wished that his Mom hadn't run out on them. He wished that his Dad would start taking him to church again, as he missed his time with the kind and welcoming staff who worked there.
As soon as Nathan had left the office, Samuel picked up the phone and dialed. "Our Lady of the Rosary parish, how can I help you" said the voice on the other end. "Yes, I'd like to talk to Father Kiesle please"....
Now, I don't claim that this scenario is what happens every time. I don't mean to exonerate every allegation against a priest. And I certainly don't mean to negate or lessen or overlook those that have experienced such damaging and hurtful things as abuse.
But its possible that SCENARIO#2 could happen. Maybe Father Kiesle was counseled by his superior, and was told "Hey, this is a ticking time bomb Father Kiesle. If you plead guilty, we'll relocate you somewhere, and this will be behind you forever. This guy, Dr. Samuel Saint is on some sort of crusade against us. You just need to sign here and...."
Now you're Pope Benedict, and you get a report about this situation on your desk. You see the predicament? As we have seen in the case with Michael Peterson, things may not always be what they seem. So what do you do? Maybe you will "consider the good of the Universal Church", while also considering the good of Father Kiesle.
I remain, in "psychological purgatory" uncertain of who's right, who's wrong, who to believe, who to disregard, and looking for effective ways to address a science that shall ever be imperfect.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125803561
Imagine you occupy a high-ranking position within the Roman Catholic church, and it is your duty to address allegations of pedophilia involving Catholic priests. In recent years, odds are you'd be hard pressed to make time for a vacation.
In the last few weeks, documents have surfaced that seem to indicate prior to his appointment as the Holy Father, then Cardinal Ratzinger delayed the defrocking of a priest charged with molesting boys. Should we be outraged? Doesn't Pope Benedict deserve some sort of reprimand, or owe someone an apology? I submit no, he does not.
Consider what we have been exposed to throughout this course, which I believe can be surmised in one word: DOUBT.
I remain in some sort of psychological Purgatory on my position or regard for the criminal justice system. Things that I thought could be trusted, have been demonstrated to be untrustworthy. Protocol and procedures I believed to be reliable and valid have been shown to be unreliable and false. Issues that I previously thought to be "cut and dry" have been observed to be "loosey goosey".
In short, the "good guys" don't seem as good, and the "bad guys" don't seem as bad anymore. There is always more to every story than anyone could ever know.
Back to the issue at hand, I submit the following scenarios, and plan to circle back to the Holy See.
SCENARIO #1:
Father Kiesle manipulates and endangers 6 young boys, molests them, gets caught, and pleads no contest to the charges. This scenario is essentially what is presented in the article linked above. "Bad guy" is caught, justice is served.
SCENARIO#2:
During one of the "darker" times in the history of Psychology as a discipline, the creation of false memories of previous abuse were not that uncommon. Dr. Samuel Saint, a young, aspiring, and charismatic school psychologist reads an article in the Times about a Catholic priest facing sexual abuse charges. Samuel knows that many of the children in his school attend catechism classes at Our Lady of the Rosary parish, where Father Kiesle is a priest.
Over the next few weeks, Samuel starts to pay close attention to the boys who frequently attend classes at Our Lady of the Rosary parish, and notices one of the boys, Nathan, is very quiet and distant, almost melancholy. He asks Nathan's teacher, Mrs. Beckett about his performance in classes. Mrs. Beckett tells Samuel "Nathan used to be one of my best students, always engaged in classwork, very eager to learn" she explained. "In the last few months though, Nathan's performance has plummeted. I've sent a few letters to his parents, asking about his situation at home, and offering extra help, but I've never received a response".
"Hmmm, something seems wrong here" Samuel thinks to himself, stirring a cup of stale Maxwell House in the teachers lounge. Samuel writes a quick note to Mrs. Beckett, and drops it in her mailbox, asking her if she would mind sending Nathan to his office for a few minutes Thursday at first recess.
In the days leading up to his meeting with Nathan, Samuel spends hours investigating pedophilia. He reads accounts about the ways children are manipulated, and told to keep quiet. He trudges through transcripts taken from interviews with convicted sex offenders, that reveal in tragic detail how these offenders touched, molested, and abused their victims. In a phone call to his mother, Samuel remembers saying "If I find out one of my students has EVER been abused like this, I'm going to find the son of a b----- who did it, and make them pay".
Thursday morning, Mrs. Beckett peeks through the mini-blinds covering Samuels' office door, and Samuel motions her in. "Nathan is here to see you Dr. Saint". Nathan was wearing a red and yellow checkered shirt with what appeared to be a grape jelly stain on the sleeve.
"Hi Nathan, I'm Sam, thanks for coming to see me" Samuel says in an upbeat voice. "I've been speaking with Mrs. Beckett, and she tells me you're usually a great student, but lately you haven't been doing as well as she thinks you can. My job here at the school is to talk to students, find out how they're doing, and see if there is anything we can help with" he explained. "Has anything out of the ordinary happened that may be affecting your schoolwork?"
"No, everything is fine" Nathan replied quickly. "Oh, well that's good to hear" said Samuel. "You go to Our Lady of the Rosary right?" he asked Nathan. "I used to, but I don't go anymore". Samuel could feel his pulse through his shirt, "Why don't you go anymore Nathan?". "Can I go to recess now?" Nathan asked. "Sure, but would you mind meeting with me again next week? I'd like to get to know you a little better, and if you come back you can have anything you want out of my candy jar" Samuel said quickly. "Yeah, okay" replied Nathan.
As Nathan walked to the playground, he wished that his Dad had never lost his job. He wished that his Mom hadn't run out on them. He wished that his Dad would start taking him to church again, as he missed his time with the kind and welcoming staff who worked there.
As soon as Nathan had left the office, Samuel picked up the phone and dialed. "Our Lady of the Rosary parish, how can I help you" said the voice on the other end. "Yes, I'd like to talk to Father Kiesle please"....
Now, I don't claim that this scenario is what happens every time. I don't mean to exonerate every allegation against a priest. And I certainly don't mean to negate or lessen or overlook those that have experienced such damaging and hurtful things as abuse.
But its possible that SCENARIO#2 could happen. Maybe Father Kiesle was counseled by his superior, and was told "Hey, this is a ticking time bomb Father Kiesle. If you plead guilty, we'll relocate you somewhere, and this will be behind you forever. This guy, Dr. Samuel Saint is on some sort of crusade against us. You just need to sign here and...."
Now you're Pope Benedict, and you get a report about this situation on your desk. You see the predicament? As we have seen in the case with Michael Peterson, things may not always be what they seem. So what do you do? Maybe you will "consider the good of the Universal Church", while also considering the good of Father Kiesle.
I remain, in "psychological purgatory" uncertain of who's right, who's wrong, who to believe, who to disregard, and looking for effective ways to address a science that shall ever be imperfect.
Hopefully I do not offend anyone, but I am personally fed up with the Vatican governing themselves. They are basically held to no standard and the Catholic Church has never had to face charges under the United Nations. Even before the UN was established the Vatican has been taking every measure possible to not be held accountable for their actions. Pope Pius the XII sided with Nazi Germany in WWII by signing an agreement with the Nazi Party but he, nor any other representatives from the Vatican, were held responsible by the United Nations. Personally, I would like to see Pope Benedict XVI and other members of the Vatican brought before the United Nations for these crimes. The Vatican has way too much power and needs to be regulated by some external agency such as the UN. I suppose though if the Pope were actually tried on criminal charges by the UN, an all out war would break out; the Pope on one side and the United Nations on the other.
Here’s a link to a book all about the Vatican’s stance during WWII.
http://www.amazon.com/Pius-XII-Second-World-War/dp/0809105039/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271274859&sr=8-2
I'm just going to be honest, this made me think of the South Park episode a few weeks ago. "Does the pope help pedophiles get away with their crimes?"-nicely said by Cartman. Although it may have been one of South Park's better episodes, it's a ridiculous issue that's going on. I totally agree with Joshua, the Vatican has way too much power. I understand that the Catholic religion is one of the largest, but when children are in getting hurt and it's being hushed, that's absolutely pathetic. Who does the pope think he is that he can know what's happening to children and let it slide, yet alone try to cover up the crime!? That's just sick. Religions are suppose to be about helping one another out, and being just. However, there's nothing just about this situation.
This is a very touchy topic but I can't help but want to comment. I was born and raised in the Catholic Church and within the last five years I have fallen away from the church (and organized religion in general). I do have to agree with the point that John made with this article. It really is hard to say "who to believe" and "who to not believe", especially when "witnesses" in these situation are young children. I certainly don't condone any acts that Catholic priests MAY have carried out, however, I do feel it is only a matter of time before there truly is an innocent priest suspected and convicted of a crime they may not have even fathomed to begin with. In my opinion - it would help out the Catholic Church's entire cause to go through each case via an unbiased review board. Honestly, accusations of priests committing molestation acts on kids is the reason my father stopped going to church. He was tired of hearing the bad publicity, didn't know who to believe, so essentially said "screw church". Another item that improve overall standing of "our" outlook on priests is that they SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO MARRY. The Catholic Church doesn't allow priests to be married - to me that just screams "there is something wrong with this picture". It is my opinion of course, but sex is a primary motivator. It (sex) is essential for the human race. Even as a young child going to various camps and retreats it was taught through the Church to wait for marriage, to practice abstinence, etc. You mean to tell me that priests that have taken the oath to refrain do not get "the urge" - let them marry! This would allow the church to begin addressing these reoccurring issues.