The Catholic Church vs. the real world, 2011

In the real world, when/if there are sexual abuse/exploitation scandals, the people accused of said sexual abuse acts are--eventually--at least accused of said crimes, put up on charges and, quite possibly and likely, fired from their jobs. We have to look no farther than right now with Penn State, Head football coach Joe Paterno and school president Graham Spanier. And we need to keep in mind, these aren't even the people who are said to have performed the sexual abuse. They were only apparently lax in their handling accusations of sexual misconduct by another person who worked for them at that same university. The Catholic Church, by contrast? The accused sexual predator--one Shawn Ratigan--is reported by both news media and the police to have taken inappropriate and extremely inappropriate pictures of children in the grade school he was to be overseeing at three different schools in the area. He had been transferred twice, at least, rather than being scrutinized by the church he was to be working for or, at least as likely, having been turned over to authorities to examine the claims made against him, first by a principal at one of the schools and then later, finally, by a computer technician who found the pictures. The priest--Ratigan--finally does get turned in, and he attempts suicide. Is he done yet? Certainly not. He gets an attorney and pleas "not guilty" to charges finally, finally brought against him. Apparently, there is no shame. As if that's not enough, the man who was his superior, one Bishop Finn, claims no responsibility whatever, in any way, though he "apologizes" to his church, but also, like Ratigan before him, pleads "not guilty" to charges filed against him in court. See? In the Catholic Church, it's still far, far more important to protect both the institution and the hierarchy in that institution, than the children they are to be teaching or mentoring. Poor Joe Paterno. He should have just been a priest in the Catholic Church. Or a Bishop, eh, Bishop Finn? Then he wouldn't be dismissed from his job already. Links: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-pennstate-abuse; www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/us/15bishop.html; https://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=father+shawn+ratigan+news&pbx=1&oq=father+shawn+ratigan+news&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=17257l22572l0l25120l25l13l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=8eaad5999fa7e232&biw=1140&bih=562