German Catholic Priests Abused More Than 3,600 Kids

[Angrboda]

I imagine your average clear thinking catholic probably just regrets that child molesters are always attracted to positions which give them access to kids.  It isn't as though the church was founded by child predators for this purpose.

But I do think those like C_L do well to demand the institution be redesigned specifically to make sure no man or men are ever alone with a child again.  That would include looking to local justice departments to enforce, bring to trial and punish any offender.  If leadership were serious, they'd do this.  If the laity were serious they'd demand it.

The position of being a priest sets up fiduciary relationships with the laity, by necessity, and fiduciary relationships, without proper oversight, lead to abuse. It's not really the problem that such abuse occurs, though we would certainly like to reduce the frequency, it's the institutional response that is faulty, and that has to do with how oversight, investigation, and discipline is justified, and implemented, within the church. Some of that has to do with the very nature of the priests' duties, as well as the church's responsibility in terms of confessional confidence, privacy for the abused and the accused, as well as insuring that accused priests aren't simply tried by a hostile secular authority, or worse, by the press and public itself. So, it's fundamental that children are going to be abused, just as they are in any other walk of life where such relationships exist. The question is how to balance the needs of all concerned without sacrificing the core goals of justice for the victims and the prevention of future abuse. In the past, the secrecy and hidden nature of the institutional response led to the abuses we see, coverups and shuffling around of abusers. What is needed is a response which doesn't lead to those outcomes, yet still respects the issues which motivated the development of the responses which ultimately has led to them.