Vatican Shoots Itself in the Foot (Again)

[Krill]

I don't know what went through the investigators minds when they planned the searchings. More serious than the drillings, though rather distasteful, is the seizure of the files of a commission that was investigating the abuses in the Church. The files contained testimonies victims gave in strict confidentiality, which has been violated with the searchings, and the commission itself has now effectively ceased working (they were due to publish their findings in a few months).

If it was a ploy to make the Church look sympathetic, it certainly worked.

I don't think it worked that well, which is exactly the problem. They should be using this to sway public opinion hard core. As it is, I'm thinking "meh".

[dannubis]

WTF?

Desecrating the dead?

Like THAT is your major problem...

[dannubis]

To be honest, I don't understand why this commission existed to begin with. If you have information on cases of sexual child abuse you immediately send it to the justice department / court / local police / wathever. If you don't, justice department has every rigth to seeze it from you. YOU DON'T MESS WITH CHILDREN!!!

I am really glad someone finally had the balls to treat these catholic suckers according to the law...

[ColdWizard]

I don't know what went through the investigators minds when they planned the searchings. More serious than the drillings, though rather distasteful, is the seizure of the files of a commission that was investigating the abuses in the Church. The files contained testimonies victims gave in strict confidentiality, which has been violated with the searchings, and the commission itself has now effectively ceased working (they were due to publish their findings in a few months).

If it was a ploy to make the Church look sympathetic, it certainly worked.

I've already read articles where the Church investigated, took information in confidentiality and promptly did nothing more than move the priest somewhere else.

I find the Vatican's reaction over the violation of tombs interesting when compared to their reaction to the violation of children.

[MOBIUS]

YOU DON'T MESS WITH CHILDREN!!!

I say we nuke the Vatican from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[BlackCat]

The real weird stuff is that the vatican tries to meddle in affairs that they certainly don't have anything to do in - belgian police investigating crimes in belgium can't in no way be an issue for the pope.

[BlackCat]

I say we nuke the Vatican from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Stupidity of a welshman at it's height Nuking the vatican will certainly destroy one of the most beautyfull and interesting cities of the world. Such measures can only be used in wastelands such as wales, the gobi desert, antarctica etc.

What is needed is some kind of flu that sterilise religious people - that should solve the problem in a few generations.

[MrFun]

Thread summary: Belgian police shoot themselves in the foot

[dannubis]

Belgian police doesn't have any feet left In that I agree...

[DinoDoc]

The real weird stuff is that the Vatican tries to meddle in affairs that they certainly don't have anything to do in - Belgian police investigating crimes in Belgium can't in no way be an issue for the pope.

The unnecessary desecration of Catholic tombs and the removal of confidential files of a Church commission investigating the matter near the publication of its findings isn't a Vatican concern?

[giblets]

Referring to the partial opening of a tomb as "desecration" might be a hyperbole.

[MrFun]

it's not hyperbole

[DanS]

I've already read articles where the Church investigated, took information in confidentiality and promptly did nothing more than move the priest somewhere else.

I don't know the process in Belgium, but basically the European church is going through what the US church went through 10 years ago. In 2002, the US church performed an audit of all of its abuse files to characterize the extent and nature of the abuse. The knowledge gained from the audit formed the basis of a US church that is much cleaner now and a church that refers its abuse cases to the civil authorities.

I sure hope the cleansing process wasn't damaged by this search. The last thing the Belgians need is a church that doesn't trust the civil authorities.

[dannubis]

The unnecessary desecration of Catholic tombs and the removal of confidential files of a Church commission investigating the matter near the publication of its findings isn't a Vatican concern?

It probably is... but they have zero say in legal matters and they don't have the best track record of openness and honesty.

[ColdWizard]

One step forward, two shots in the foot back? Link.

BRUSSELS – A Catholic panel investigating clerical sex abuse in Belgium is shutting down to protest a police raid on its church offices last week, the group's chairman said Monday.

Peter Adriaenssens, a child psychiatrist who chaired the panel, said Belgian authorities betrayed the trust of nearly 500 victims who had made complaints over the past two months to the church panel and blamed state prosecutors for pursuing victims too traumatized to speak to police.

"We were bait," he said.

Authorities seized church documents and computers, detained bishops and even opened up a prelate's crypt on June 24.

On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI denounced the raids as "deplorable" and said such an intrusion into church affairs was unprecedented even under communism. It was his first public comment on the deepening diplomatic rift between Belgium and the Vatican over the police raids.

Adriaenssens linked the raids to a state investigation into a possible cover-up of abuse by the Catholic Church.

The Belgian church was rocked by the April 24 resignation of its longest-serving bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, who stepped down after admitting sexually abusing a young boy during when former Archbishop Godfried Danneels was in charge.

The revelation came as hundreds of cases of abuse were being reported across Europe, Latin America and elsewhere, exposing cover-ups by bishops and evidence of long-standing Vatican inaction to stop it.

Danneels resigned in January after victims said he had not responded to their complaints.

The Catholic panel had been in existence for over a decade, but for most of that time, it dealt with only 30 complaints and took no discernible action on them.

Since Adriaenssens took over eight weeks ago, hundreds of men and boys had come forward and the panel received nearly 500 complaints. The group was due to make a report to the Belgian Church in October, but Adriaenssens said prosecutors launched the raid after he told them the flood of alleged victims had slowed.

The panel was also due to question 16 people who had previously complained to former Archbishop Danneels about sexual abuse by priests.