Post by T-Rex91 on Mar 25, 2010 13:19:41 GMT -5
Is this shocking to anyone else? Certainly not to me.....and the cover-up continues.....
Vatican says it was unaware of alleged American priest abuse
By the CNN Wire Staff
March 25, 2010 11:03 a.m. EDT
The Vatican says it was unaware of abuse allegations against Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
*American priest believed to have molested up to 200 boys
Authorities investigated Wisconsin priest, then dropped the case
*Newspaper reports officials, including future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline priest
RELATED TOPICS
Church Abuse Scandals
The Roman Catholic Church
Pope Benedict XVI
Rome, Italy (CNN) -- The Vatican said it didn't learn of an American priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys until 20 years after civil authorities investigated -- then dropped -- the case.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi issued the statement Wednesday in response to a New York Times story alleging that top Vatican officials, including the future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline or defrock the now-deceased Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy of Wisconsin, despite warnings from several American bishops.
"During the mid-1970s, some of Father Murphy's victims reported his abuse to civil authorities, who investigated him at that time," Lombardi said. "However, according to news reports, that investigation was dropped."
The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become pope, "was not informed of the matter until some 20 years later," Lombardi said. The office is in charge of deciding whether accused priests should be given canonical trials and defrocked.
The New York Times story, published Wednesday, cites documents it obtained from attorneys for five men who have brought four lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The documents include letters between bishops and the Vatican, victims' affidavits, the handwritten notes of an expert on sexual disorders who interviewed Murphy and minutes of a final Vatican meeting on the case.
Murphy began as a teacher for St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin, in 1950, the newspaper said. He was promoted to run the school in 1963 even though students had warned church officials of molestation. Many of Murphy's victims were hearing-impaired, according to the Times.
Ratzinger failed to respond to two letters about the case in 1996 from Milwaukee's then-archbishop, Rembert G. Weakland. After eight months, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who at the time was second-in-command of the doctrinal office and now is the Vatican's secretary of state, told Wisconsin bishops to begin a secret canonical trial, according to the Times.
"In such cases, the Code of Canon Law does not envision automatic penalties, but recommends that a judgment be made not excluding even the greatest ecclesiastical penalty of dismissal from the clerical state," Lombardi said.
"In light of the facts that Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith suggested that the Archbishop of Milwaukee give consideration to addressing the situation by, for example, restricting Father Murphy's public ministry and requiring that Father Murphy accept full responsibility for the gravity of his acts," the statement said, noting Murphy died four months later.
The Times said three successive archbishops in Wisconsin were told of the abuse, but none reported it to criminal or civil authorities. Lombardi, however, said that neither canon law nor Vatican norms prohibit the reporting of such cases to law enforcement. But, said the Times, "he did not address why that had never happened in this case."
The bishops warned the Vatican, according to the newspaper, that failure to act on the matter could result in embarrassment to the church.
"The tragic case of Father Lawrence Murphy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, involved particularly vulnerable victims who suffered terribly," Lombardi said in the statement. "By sexually abusing children who were hearing-impaired, Father Murphy violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him."
"In the late 1990s, after over two decades had passed since the abuse had been reported to diocesan officials and the police, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was presented for the first time with the question of how to treat the Murphy case canonically," the statement said.
At the time, there was no procedure in place for reporting church abuse to the doctrinal office, according to Vatican sources. The office was informed of the matter, Lombardi said, because it involved abuse at confession, which is a violation of the Sacrament of Penance.
CNN's Diana Magnay contributed to this report.
Vatican says it was unaware of alleged American priest abuse
By the CNN Wire Staff
March 25, 2010 11:03 a.m. EDT
The Vatican says it was unaware of abuse allegations against Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
*American priest believed to have molested up to 200 boys
Authorities investigated Wisconsin priest, then dropped the case
*Newspaper reports officials, including future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline priest
RELATED TOPICS
Church Abuse Scandals
The Roman Catholic Church
Pope Benedict XVI
Rome, Italy (CNN) -- The Vatican said it didn't learn of an American priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys until 20 years after civil authorities investigated -- then dropped -- the case.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi issued the statement Wednesday in response to a New York Times story alleging that top Vatican officials, including the future Pope Benedict XVI, failed to discipline or defrock the now-deceased Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy of Wisconsin, despite warnings from several American bishops.
"During the mid-1970s, some of Father Murphy's victims reported his abuse to civil authorities, who investigated him at that time," Lombardi said. "However, according to news reports, that investigation was dropped."
The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become pope, "was not informed of the matter until some 20 years later," Lombardi said. The office is in charge of deciding whether accused priests should be given canonical trials and defrocked.
The New York Times story, published Wednesday, cites documents it obtained from attorneys for five men who have brought four lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The documents include letters between bishops and the Vatican, victims' affidavits, the handwritten notes of an expert on sexual disorders who interviewed Murphy and minutes of a final Vatican meeting on the case.
Murphy began as a teacher for St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin, in 1950, the newspaper said. He was promoted to run the school in 1963 even though students had warned church officials of molestation. Many of Murphy's victims were hearing-impaired, according to the Times.
Ratzinger failed to respond to two letters about the case in 1996 from Milwaukee's then-archbishop, Rembert G. Weakland. After eight months, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who at the time was second-in-command of the doctrinal office and now is the Vatican's secretary of state, told Wisconsin bishops to begin a secret canonical trial, according to the Times.
"In such cases, the Code of Canon Law does not envision automatic penalties, but recommends that a judgment be made not excluding even the greatest ecclesiastical penalty of dismissal from the clerical state," Lombardi said.
"In light of the facts that Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health, and that he was living in seclusion and no allegations of abuse had been reported in over 20 years, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith suggested that the Archbishop of Milwaukee give consideration to addressing the situation by, for example, restricting Father Murphy's public ministry and requiring that Father Murphy accept full responsibility for the gravity of his acts," the statement said, noting Murphy died four months later.
The Times said three successive archbishops in Wisconsin were told of the abuse, but none reported it to criminal or civil authorities. Lombardi, however, said that neither canon law nor Vatican norms prohibit the reporting of such cases to law enforcement. But, said the Times, "he did not address why that had never happened in this case."
The bishops warned the Vatican, according to the newspaper, that failure to act on the matter could result in embarrassment to the church.
"The tragic case of Father Lawrence Murphy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, involved particularly vulnerable victims who suffered terribly," Lombardi said in the statement. "By sexually abusing children who were hearing-impaired, Father Murphy violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him."
"In the late 1990s, after over two decades had passed since the abuse had been reported to diocesan officials and the police, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was presented for the first time with the question of how to treat the Murphy case canonically," the statement said.
At the time, there was no procedure in place for reporting church abuse to the doctrinal office, according to Vatican sources. The office was informed of the matter, Lombardi said, because it involved abuse at confession, which is a violation of the Sacrament of Penance.
CNN's Diana Magnay contributed to this report.
. Skimmers can just read the highlighted part. I hope this is the prototype for this bill nationwide.