NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > People and Politics > A smoking gun letter reveals Vatican directly ordered pedophiles be protected

People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

A smoking gun letter reveals Vatican directly ordered pedophiles be protected

Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 06:39 PM

Larger Text

E-mail

58 Comments

15 - 58 | See all comments

WoundedKnee | Feb 15, 2013, 05:11 AM EST

Roberts' piece of slander was originally published on IC over two years ago. Why is IC regurgitating it now?

Report abuse

artsphotographi | Feb 14, 2013, 05:14 AM EST

It has been going on, and being covered up for a long time! http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/may/22/history.society

Report abuse

barneyjo | Jan 26, 2011, 08:55 PM EST

@cowabunga - if that be so, I would be interested to hear your view on the letter from Cardinal Oddi to Bishop Moreno in Tuscon, written in 1987, specifically when he says, "The files of a Bishop concerning his priests are altogether private; their forced acquisition by civil authority would be an intolerable attack upon the free exercise of religion in the United States" We cannot know for certain what other Cardinals, one having been made Pope, said or did. We DO know what Cardinal Oddi's views were in the 1980's and we also know the views of Cardinal Storero in 1997. Two Cardinal Princes of the Church, expressing views over a decade apart. That to my mind is NO co-incidence. It smacks wholly of an institutional mindset which declares " If you are not with us, you are against us!!" Regrettably,I must also challenge your view that John Paul II in particular sought to put an end to such "crimes" Facts would seem to be to the contrary. In evidence I would offer the example of Father Maciel Delgado and the Leigonnaires of Christ. Despite strong evidence, Maciel was left in place as the Superior of his Order. It was Ratzinger, as Benedict who brought him to book. But even then that was only because of a frightening amount of evidence that came to light across the world which supported the claims that Maciel was a serial Priest offender.

Report abuse

cowabunga | Jan 26, 2011, 07:30 PM EST

Hello-having done a bit of research on the recently reported 'smoking gun letter from the Vatican'-and having read the entire thing, along with the background of this story, lets get clear what's has NOT been reported. This letter was written in 1997 by Cardinal Storero, from the Congregation of the Clergy office at the Vatican-WITHOUT any approval or orders from any Pope, and especially, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope B. The Cardinal who was the head of that office, Hoyos, got this letter written because he questioned the procedure in the Irish Bishops document, which states that clergy abuse crimes should be reported to the civil authorities-but not, according to Hoyos's concern's, if it would be at the expense of the local bishop's being able to investigate them first. Again, the letter 'questions'- and does NOT 'order' any change in action, because this would have been AGAINST the original and present policy, of all the Pope's of the last 50 years-none who EVER ordered any Bishop not to report crimes of clergy abuse to the local police. Thanks to Pope JPII and Benedict XVI, the Church's record of putting an end to these crimes, where virtually no new cases of clergy abuse have happened in the last two decades, is far above the record of the public school systems, and all other institutions, where the abuse of children and minors occur, and are kept hidden. The truth sets us free, we are told-and THAT, you can believe!

Report abuse

downinthebasement | Jan 26, 2011, 10:45 AM EST

Couldn't this explain why the God fearing people of Ulster don't want to be in the Republic of Ireland?

Report abuse

jacersagain | Jan 22, 2011, 03:19 PM EST

I have point out that Patrick’s article above has a link to the TV program within it. I urge all to watch it again (allow 40 minutes) and make up their own minds. The show will be available for viewing through the link up to 7th February. I clearly see and hear Mike Peelo, the reporter presenting the show, stating a lie about what the letter says. This is exactly the reason why letter has received all the wrong publicity – Peelo’s lie. May I also point recent posters to the Vatican’s response as shown in my post at Jan 19, 2011, 03:43 PM EST below which highlights the errors in Peelo’s program.

Report abuse

Advocate | Jan 21, 2011, 10:28 PM EST

Are these people criminals by association? The RCC is anti-Human Nature as created by Yahweh, simply by THEIR man-made rules (sic), of celibacy. Said policy is shure & utter Nonsense & Rubbish. Said policies CANNOT be found in Scripture! The RCC created this mess and now seeks to cover same to protect IT'S reputation! How sad; How sick! Explain this to Yahweh/God... While you are at it, Explain to Him, why the RCC recently banished the use of His actual Name (YHWH; Yahweh), when Scripture tells us that His Name would be revealed in those days, Etc., etc. We will pay a big price if we allow same to continue...

Report abuse

ciarajoyce | Jan 21, 2011, 07:55 PM EST

Is anyone really surprised by this? After the nightmare we went through in the US and the early stages of Ireland's similar problems, this is a problem that goes all the way to the top (or in this case, the bottom). I think church-goers should withhold contributions to this immoral and amoral group of dirty old men for at least six months and hopefully for a year. On the other side of the coin, I remember decades ago when we had a flasher who'd positioned himself so those of us who attended an all-girl's school in DC had to walk past the man and his open trench coat (a real trench coat). I'd encountered the man in other parts of the city and was neither shocked nor upset by the man's behavior; I walked past him and went into the school building. Every nun who taught at the school went down to "check on" the man at least twice, many of the "ladies" went down to see the man a lot more than twice. He was the topic of conversation by every nun in every class but none of the girls at the school were upset by the man -- just the nuns. We were city kids and had encountered a lot more graphic behavior than this guy, who was tame on the pervert scale!

Report abuse

barneyjo | Jan 20, 2011, 08:26 PM EST

One other thought about letters. There are other letters also in the public domain which are, unlike the 1997 Irish Letter absolutley clear in content and purpose. Letters such as the one from Cardinal Oddi who was from 1979 to 1986 Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, to Bishop Moreno of Tuscon Arizona. This letter is a reply to Bishop Moreno's original letter seeking guidance on how to deal with a "Troublesome Priest" In his correspondence, Cardinal Oddi says, "under no condition whatever ought the afore-mentioned files be surrendered to any lawyer or judge whatsoever." Oddi said "The files of a Bishop concerning his priests are altogether private; their forced acquisition by civil authority would be an intolerable attack upon the free exercise of religion in the United States" He further added;"We should be clear and resolute, for failure in this regard might initiate a movement toward a most unfavorable precedent in law and - no less importantly - frighten and upset not a few priests whose files are perhaps less than flattering," In this context the letter to the Irish Bishops can legitimately be viewed in an entirely different light.

Report abuse

barneyjo | Jan 20, 2011, 08:01 PM EST

Thats one interpretation to be sure, but that also negates the contribution to the programme I watched made by Bishop Michael Smith who made no bones about saying that the position that the Irish Bishops were put in at the time by the vatican through Castillion Hoyos was serious enough to prompt one (or more) Bishops to resign. In addition, whatever interpretation you put on the content of the letter, it is totally devoid of any validated recognition by Church Authorities of the abject horror of the infliction of abuse on children by pedophile priests and other religious. It is highly contextualised in "legaleese" defining the courses of action to be taken in respect of the priest offender. And worst of all, totally devoid of any sense of compassion or care; a "Business Letter" if you will. Upon reflection that for me is the worst crime of all!!

Report abuse

jacersagain | Jan 20, 2011, 05:53 PM EST

barneyjo old IC friend (Jan 19, 08:59 PM) you make good valid points but I suggest that they might be based on a wrong reading of the letter. You say that the letter seeks to uphold Canon over Civil Law... I don’t see that anywhere in the letter. It does say words to the effect that by pursuing its aims in the way their document says, the Bishops might well lose the very cause they are pursuing. Remember that the issue at heart was the defrocking of priests, something the Vatican takes very seriously and is dealt with solely under Canon Law. Canon Law seeks to protect the priesthood of the abuser, not the abuser himself, in the hope that reconciliation with Christ can happen and his ministry can continue. That, I think, is why the letter emphasises the duties of the Bishops under Canon Law (as did Pope Benedict in his letter last year). The letter implies that under Canon Law (as it stood back then) they might not succeed, embarrassingly so. The letter does not say they should not pursue a civil course of action. It was because of the conflict between Canon Law and Civil Law that the issue, as it stood back then, could not be dealt with satisfactorily. Thankfully, since 2001, it can and should be. The mindset of Vatican protocols has been forever changed forever because of what the Irish and other bishops fought for.

Report abuse

Bushothehill | Jan 20, 2011, 04:46 PM EST

Despite all this, the Catholic church is alive and well and work goes ahead to cast out all the evil. Current evil is minimal when compared with the good that the church has done throut the centuries

Report abuse

barneyjo | Jan 20, 2011, 04:17 PM EST

@2BorNot2B - when you say "you have Nothing but innuendo and heresay" to those who have an alternative viewpoint to your own on these matters, that is not quite true. If you watched the same programe that I did, you will have seen the segment in which Bishop Michael Smith confirms that a very fraught and difficult meeting of the Irish Bishops Conference took place at Sligo, when Cardinal Dario Castrillion Hoyos was also present. He also confirmed that Arch-Bishop Desmond Connell sought to convy to the Cardinal the very difficult position that the Vatican had placed the Irish Bishops in by the insistance that the process for dealing with Pedophile priests under Canon Law should prevail over the use of civil law, and at least one Bishop felt obliged to consider resignation. That is not innuendo, that is a member of the Irish Bishops Conference WHO WAS PRESENT AT THE MEETING" confirming the substance of one of the main claims of the program. And please dont take my word for it, watch the programme, listen to what Michael Smith had to say and judge for yourself. In summary he said that the Vatican had no grasp of the seriousness of the situation in Ireland......1997 is a long time ago when as the letter suggests that the Vatican was giving consideration into how best to handle the outcry created by pedophillia within the Catholic Church.

Report abuse

larslofan | Jan 20, 2011, 02:16 PM EST

When will the Irish learn the Vatican has, and always will, play by their own set of rules? When Ireland takes a long look at the Church's continuing role in sanctioned rape, I hope they flee en mass...I have, and feel so better for it; there's something about knowing my tithing dollars only going to sexual abuse/rape law suits that finally became too much.

Report abuse

2BorNot2B | Jan 20, 2011, 01:39 PM EST

Stop your frothing at the mouth, you shallow, uninformed, stiff-necked people bent on condemning the WHOLE of the Catholic Church clergy for the sins of a few... you have nothing more than a sick desire for revenge and destruction of the institution. -- But guess what, It ain't going to happen, as much as you rant and rave!!! So live with it, and with your all-consuming rage! --- So far some justice has been meted through 'civil' suits, which anyone can initiate on a whim, and where the demands for proof are not as stringent as they would be on a 'criminal' case. If there were solid grounds for more, you can bet a legion of lawyers would have jumped on the bandwagon. They are salivating at the thought of getting paid with what they claim are "the enormous riches of the Vatican!" -- But not until you see 'criminal' cases being filed, you have NOTHING but innuendo and hearsay from biased sources, driven by a simmering hatred of the institution. --- Still, even when, and if, criminal cases proceed and some people are condemned, it is certain your sick obsession will not diminish. You will then say: "They got away because of powerful interests... the government protected them... they are afraid of the power of the Vatican... alien forces from space surround them... you name it; whatever comes to your sick mind... you will not be happy! So wallow in your anger and die from it, you deserve it.

Report abuse