Because, of course, that would be the one and only reason that a woman or a man who was sexually abused by a priest would want to initiate a lawsuit against a Church who silenced any attempt to hold their clergy or religious institution accountable for the great harm that was caused.
Perhaps, had the Church Fathers had responded in a humane, caring and responsible manner when children and parents approached them with evidence of these transgressions, instead of sweeping these crimes under the carpet, such legislation would not now been necessary.
A friend recently lent me a novel by Ariana Franklin, Mistress of the Art of Death. The author admits that she allowed an anachronism or two to slip in so that the narrative flowed.
The basic historical background is rigorous however, and there is one issue critical to the storyline that returns in Franklin's subsequent novel, The Serpent's Tale. The Catholic Church maintained then that members of its clergy were not obliged to obey man-made laws. This was the question that divided Henry II and Thomas Beckett:
"The clergy have Christ alone as King and under the King of Heaven; they should be ruled by their own law."
Centuries later, the Catholic Church perseveres in following medieval principles and maintaining that its ecclesiastical rules are the only ones that are God-given and irrevocable.
Un grand merci to JJ who blogged the news item quoted.
2 comments:
If Rome does indeed go bankrupt, then I'll bring the party favours and the cake...hell, I'll even bake the cake.
Common sense dictates that every effort must be made to excise the malignant tumor and restore the body to good health. Is there an ecclesiastical equivalent to the term "common sense?"
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