Defrocked molesters fall below the radar
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --
At a time of heightened national concern about the need to track sex offenders, the Catholic Church in America has begun cutting loose dozens - perhaps hundreds - of priests who have molested children.
The church had already suspended the clerics after finding the child-abuse allegations against them to be credible. Now, as it defrocks them, expelling them from the priesthood, the men are quietly reentering civilian life with only the barest notice to the public, and no ongoing oversight by the church.
Nor is law enforcement certain to be watching them.
In most instances, the statute of limitations in their cases expired years ago. This means they face no prospect of prosecution for past sex offenses.
"As a citizen, I would be concerned and would want to know if such an individual was living on my block," said Capt. John Darby, head of the Philadelphia police Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes.
But only convicted sex offenders' names appear on "Megan's Law" public registries checkable by neighbors, Darby said - and few of the defrocked priests were ever charged or convicted.
The church sex-abuse scandal, and the "zero tolerance" policy that the bishops enacted in response, has led thus far to nine defrockings in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and one in the Camden Diocese. Observers say hundreds more U.S. priests await decisions by the Vatican.
To critics, the church is washing its hands of a problem it helped create by failing to alert police to the abuse reports years ago, when they were first received.
"If, indeed, a person is a true predator, the institutional church still has an obligation to maintain some vigilance over him," said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, an early whistleblower on priest abuse, and now a prominent advocate for victims.
Read the article at Philadelphia Inquirer Dated July 31, 2005
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At a time of heightened national concern about the need to track sex offenders, the Catholic Church in America has begun cutting loose dozens - perhaps hundreds - of priests who have molested children.
The church had already suspended the clerics after finding the child-abuse allegations against them to be credible. Now, as it defrocks them, expelling them from the priesthood, the men are quietly reentering civilian life with only the barest notice to the public, and no ongoing oversight by the church.
Nor is law enforcement certain to be watching them.
In most instances, the statute of limitations in their cases expired years ago. This means they face no prospect of prosecution for past sex offenses.
"As a citizen, I would be concerned and would want to know if such an individual was living on my block," said Capt. John Darby, head of the Philadelphia police Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes.
But only convicted sex offenders' names appear on "Megan's Law" public registries checkable by neighbors, Darby said - and few of the defrocked priests were ever charged or convicted.
The church sex-abuse scandal, and the "zero tolerance" policy that the bishops enacted in response, has led thus far to nine defrockings in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and one in the Camden Diocese. Observers say hundreds more U.S. priests await decisions by the Vatican.
To critics, the church is washing its hands of a problem it helped create by failing to alert police to the abuse reports years ago, when they were first received.
"If, indeed, a person is a true predator, the institutional church still has an obligation to maintain some vigilance over him," said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, an early whistleblower on priest abuse, and now a prominent advocate for victims.
Read the article at Philadelphia Inquirer Dated July 31, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 3:53 PM
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