BishopAccountability.org
	Bishops Treated As Pawns The Tribune-Democrat June 1, 2010 http://tribune-democrat.com/editorials/x1414117974/Bishops-treated-as-pawns We’re both disappointed and confused by the Vatican’s position in attempts to clear it of liability for U.S. bishops who allowed priests to molest children. The Associated Press reports that the Vatican is arguing for dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed in Kentucky, saying that bishops are not its employees. They also are not church “officials,” the Vatican is contending. Huh? Are they really independent contractors, we wonder? Doesn’t the pope, via his leaders, appoint bishops? And can’t he remove them via the same chain of command? Doesn’t Rome also set rules the bishops must follow? And doesn’t Rome have oversight of some decisions by bishops, for example in financial matters? Somehow, we get the idea that all translates to an employer-employee relationship. The Vatican further says that a 1962 Vatican document did not require bishops to keep quiet. The lawsuit claims that the Holy See should have to pay damages to victims of pedophile priests. The victims’ lawsuit says bishops in the United States were part of a Vatican cover-up of abuse. It also says the bishops didn’t prevent the abuse and didn’t report it. While we’re confused by the Vatican’s stand, we under-stand that it is trying to use legal jargon and the complexities of the structure of the Roman Catholic Church to separate itself from current and future lawsuits filed in connection with priest abuses and alleged cover-ups that might occur. Seeking loopholes is more the stuff we would expect from Wall Street miscreants or multibillion-dollar corporations.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.