Was there something a little theatrical about the raid by the Belgian police on church premises in that country? Perhaps, but the Vatican’s reaction is, to say the least, curious.
First there was this (via the Daily Telegraph) from the Pope:
“During this meeting, amongst other things, aspects linked to the abuse of minors by members of the clergy were to have been discussed,” the pope’s message said. “I have myself repeated numerous times that these serious facts must be dealt with by civil law and by canon law, in reciprocal respect of the specificity and autonomy of each.
What exactly does he mean by that?
And then there was this:
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the detention of a number of bishops during the raid was “serious and unbelievable”, comparing it to the practices of communist regimes.
As absurd comparisons go, that takes some beating. Bertone should do some homework, beginning, perhaps, with the life of a true prince of his church, the late Cardinal Mindszenty.
The comparison to Communists might be over-the-top, but according to the BBC, police confiscated the bishops’ cell phones during the raid and wouldn’t allow them to leave. If true, that goes beyond “a little theatrical.” Under American law, if the police tell you that you’re not free to leave, you’ve been placed under arrest. Why?
What exactly does he mean by that?
That his homosexual ephebophile club should be above the laws which apply to everyone else.
Actually Le Mur, that’s precisely the opposite of what he meant.
He means that civil authorities ought to be responsible for upholding the civil law – child abuse is a crime under a civil law and ought to be prosecuted by civil authorities.
By that same token, when a priest commits sexual abuse there are also penalties under Canon law (over and the penalties under civil law) which it is up to the Church to enforce (e.g. defrockment, removal from the clerical state).
In short, all he’s saying is that the Church doesn’t tell the State how much jail time to give an offender, and the State doesn’t tell the Church what sort of penalties to invoke which are only of concern to those who accept the doctrinal premises of Catholicism.
UPDATE: According to a lawyer for the Mechelen-Brussels archdiocese, “the police had drilled into the tombs of two cardinals at Mechelen cathedral north of Brussels, in order to send down cameras, and broke away part of one tomb.” The archbishop said that “it looks like the police were searching for the Da Vinci code.”
Unless the police had evidence that the meeting they were braking up was itself part of a criminal conspiracy or destruction of evidence, it looks to me that the comparison to Communist regimes isn’t that far off.
And for what it’s worth, TV crews apparently showed up a half hour before the police.
Actually Le Mur, that’s precisely the opposite of what he meant.
Nope. Along with most of the rest of the Jesus freaks, he’s helped cover-up these activities as much as possible: “…reciprocal respect of the specificity and autonomy of each” means he thinks that his church is autonomous (“self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only.”), IOW, that his homosexual ephebophile club should be above the laws which apply to everyone else.