Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
January 13, 2006
The following is the text of an amended complaint (dated January 10, 2006) filed on behalf of Father Robert Hoatson, a priest of the Newark Archdiocese. Father Hoatson is suing the Newark Archdiocese, Archbishop John Myers, the New York Archdiocese, Cardinal Edward Egan, the Albany Diocese, Bishop Howard Hubbard, and others. ...
69. Unknown to the public, in 1962, a secret guideline was issued by the Holy Office of the Vatican, now known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals in this case among them, with instructions that this document be kept in the secret archive within each DIOCESE in the United States and the world, including the ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARK, NEW YORK and THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ALBANY and the document was entitled "Manner of proceeding in Cases of Solicitation," or by its official Latin name, Crimen Sollicitationis. The Crimen document prescribes secret procedures for processing cases of an especially vile form of clergy sexual abuse: solicitation of sex during sacramental confession. But, the document also discusses procedures of other clerical crimes including sex with children and even sex by and between clerics. The Pope and various regional bishops had issued a series of similar disciplinary laws against solicitation as far back as 1561. The authenticity of Crimen has been the subject of intense examination, including an on-point deposition of Rev. John Beal, an Associate Professor of Law at Catholic University of America.