Association of Catholic Priests call for sexual abuse accusers to be publicly named

Doctor McHugh's experience with sexual abuse victims and her expertise are invaluable, and Irish Central is fortunate to have her comments. On the other hand, what has Mortimer74 *contributed* besides complaints, irrelevancies (like the tu quoque fallacies of logic at Dec 04, 2012, 06:18 PM EST), distortions, and peevishness?

It is far from a "universally hated" idea. Innocent until proven guilty. Right to a fair trial. Prison sentences for false accusers. Right to confront your accuser. These are universally endorsed ideas. Unfortunately, priests are denied them. Enlightened readers may care to search Daily Mail David Rose St Williams for an excellent piece of investigative journalism in the area of false accusers and unethical lawyers. I have been trying to share that with readers of IC since yesterday.

I am shocked that the ACP of Ireland would hatch such an obviously harmful, universally hated idea! This is from an American web site 'Media Communication Law: Exam 2," but the part concerning ethics for journalists has a nearly universal scope. "What do the following cases-- Cox Broadcasting v. Cohn, Florida Star v. BJF, and Florida v. Globe-- have in common? Answer: They held that naming of rape victims in news reports violates the 4th Amendment [US Constitution, right to security of person]. Courts ruled that there is no First Amendment ["freedom of speech"] right to name rape victims. They ruled that 1st Amendment does not ban publication of the names of rape victims; it is a matter of journalistic ethics." The US Constitution also protects an accused person's right to confront and question his or her accuser, but this right pertains to a fair trial in criminal court. I understand that accused priests suffer loss of reputation or 'good name' when an accusation is made. But JUSTICE requires not jeopardizing investigation or trial by naming victims. The priests cannot hope to succeed in this not-at-all-'liberal' cause.

Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Chicago, Illinois: have you reported your case of sexual abuse? In writing? I read your comments closely, then did some research on you. And I uncovered phrases from you like, “I pray that the Vatican will lose its power.” I wonder if you harbor an agenda here. I’m interested to know if you also treat victims of child sexual abuse from other denominations (you see, they’re actually more numerous than within the Catholic Church). Perhaps you’ve treated children who have been abused in US public schools. The author of a 2004 report commissioned by the US Department of Education, Hofstra University’s Charol Shakeshaft, said, “The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.” Unfortunately, Rosemary, you don’t seem to mention those. By the way, there are lots of statistics from reputable bodies out there now showing that incidences of Catholic clergy abuse have fallen off dramatically. Last year there were 7 credible accusations. Yes, 7. “Because of this shame and secrecy, we do not know how many priest sex abuse cases there really are,” you write in a post. Surely, such speculation doesn’t really move us forward much. Oh, and by the way, Dr McHugh, many priests have also committed suicide because of the emotional torture of false accusations. They are also victims

Bill Donohue lol

- It has been estimated that in the US between 32% and 50% of all accusations against priests are either flat out false or grossly exaggerated (“Catholic Priests Falsely Accused,” author David Pierre). That is the real scandal in all this – the truth abuse scandal. The witch hunt, smear campaign and conspiracy of the last decade have left many completely innocent priests in ruins, and many disgusting individuals (liars, criminal fraudsters and unscrupulous lawyers) very wealthy. Over the past three years alone, 173 false accusations have been lodged against Catholic priests in the US. (Bill Donohue, The Catholic League, “Bigotry Explains False Accusations” (July 18, 2012)). Even in 2002, at the height of abuse reporting by media, a study found that approximately half of the priests accused between 1950 and 2002 were found to be subject to unsubstantiated allegations. (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2004 report). Embarrassingly for Ireland, an account like the widely debunked “Kathy’s Story” was taken at face value by 400,000 rather gullible individuals. There is a heinous double standard being applied to those like priests accused of sexual abuse. They are assumed guilty until proven innocent and are afforded no right to face or even know of their accusers. That merely encourages the liars and fraudsters. The ACP are quite right to request that their accusers be named, and their accusations put in writing.

What a piece of work that corporation is...

Mortimer, I am not disagreeing that some priests have taken lie detector tests, what I am saying is all the priests and church hierarchy should take lie detector tests to verify the extent of their participation, rape, knowledge of or cover up. Only after all have participated , the guilty parties excommunicated, and the results publicized will anyone trust the Catholic Church. We are aware that not all priests are pedophiles, but the trick is knowing who are. Annual lie detector tests should be mandatory for the Catholic Church hierarchy and any people in positions of authority that have contact with children as part of their job or volunteer activity. I know all pedophile activity cannot be prevented, but eliminating many opportunities will lessen the frequency of incidents. I know I will feel better if my children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews etc. could be safe at church, sports and youth group activities.

If I were in their place I would want to know who my accuser was. Anonymous accusations are clearly very unsettling to say the least.

commentator, I've already replied to you on lie detector tests. "If you do a little research, you’ll find that many accused priests over the last decade have willingly submitted to lie detector tests and passed them. Their accusers, meanwhile, have mysteriously shied away from them. Unfortunately, the results have not been allowed in the kangaroo courts."

irishpjk, yes, IC is filtering commentary about the Truth Abuse Scandal. It has blocked several comments I have made on the issue, some of which refer to important articles in other less agenda-driven media.

Don't let them do this. There have been too many who have gotten away with this crime for too long.

WHEN IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HIERARCHY GOING TO UNDERGO LIE DETECTOR TESTS TO DETERMINE WHO RAPED THE CHILDREN, WHO KNEW ABOUT IT AND WHO COVERED IT UP. WHEN THE RESULTS ARE PUBLICIZED, THEN MANY MORE OF THE ACCUSERS MIGHT BE WILLING TO GO PUBLIC. This request by the priests seems to be a fishing expedition to find out how much longer they can lie about the abuse. If they can determine who is accusing them, then they can feel safe about children they raped who have not come forward. IF THE PRIESTS PROVIDE THE NAMES OF ALL THE CHILDREN THEY RAPED AND ABUSED TO THE POLICE AND ALSO CONFESS TO WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE OF CRIMES AND THE NAMES OF ALL THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY WHO WERE AWARE OF THE ABUSE THEN THERE WOULD BE PROGRESS TOWARD JUSTICE, BUT IT SEEMS IT IS STILL BUSINESS AS USUAL IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. HYPOCRITES ALL. WHAT A SIN THESE PRIESTS STILL A PART OF THE CHURCH. CONFESS YOUR SINS TO THE COURT AND BEG FORGIVENESS !!!

Nothing except application of the same concept endorsed in the U.S. Constitution. You have a right to confront your accuser.

where did my coments go? Are we only allowed to agree with what you you write, sad.