Religion

MineralMan

(147,575 posts) Fri May 31, 2019, 01:23 PM May 2019

Here's what happens when civil authorities look the other way:

Depending on where you live, your local police department and city government might be ignoring crimes committed by priests. Buffalo, NY, has historically been a Roman Catholic town, pretty much. Like a lot of such towns, the local government and police force are made up, in the majority, of "good Catholics." Here's what that can lead to, and it's why our country is supposed to keep government and religion separated:

https://buffalonews.com/2019/05/19/why-buffalos-child-molesting-priests-werent-arrested/

Marching orders kept Buffalo cops from arresting child-molesting priests

Hardly any of the more than 100 Buffalo area priests implicated as child molesters spent so much as one day in jail. For years, most of their victims were too scared or embarrassed to make complaints.

But Buffalo Police had marching orders not to arrest Catholic priests, according to former vice squad Detective Martin Harrington and other retired officers. Instead they alerted the bishop’s office to any illegal activities.

“The department’s unwritten policy was that Catholic priests did not get arrested,” said Harrington, who investigated vice crimes for 17 years and retired in 1995. “I never had any experience with priests who molested children. I never heard of any priests molesting children. But we had priests we caught with pornography, or masturbating in the city parks, and our orders were to turn them over to the Buffalo Diocese. The diocese would deal with them … but they would not be arrested.”

The policy “only extended to Catholic priests,” Harrington recalled. “If we caught clergy from other religions, we arrested them.”

7 replies

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Highlight:

Here's what happens when civil authorities look the other way: (Original Post) MineralMan May 2019 OP

This is why the RCC promotes clericalism. trotsky May 2019 #1

Yes, exactly. MineralMan May 2019 #2

A worldwide phenomenon. trotsky May 2019 #3

Good example. It's also a good example of violence MineralMan May 2019 #4

Even some DUers think the RCC should be exempt from secular laws Major Nikon May 2019 #5

Hard to imagine, isn't it? MineralMan May 2019 #6

Nice save, there, Detective. Iggo Jun 2019 #7

trotsky

(49,533 posts)

1. This is why the RCC promotes clericalism.

Reply to MineralMan (Original post)

Fri May 31, 2019, 01:41 PM

May 2019

They need to put themselves above secular authorities to cover up their crimes.

MineralMan

(147,575 posts)

2. Yes, exactly.

Reply to trotsky (Reply #1)

Fri May 31, 2019, 01:51 PM

May 2019

And they succeed in some places, where the population is Catholic in the majority. Places where the Mayor is a Catholic, and the Police Chief and the Fire Chief and the City Manager are all Catholics. Suddenly, the Catholic Church gets a level of protection and tolerance that others do not enjoy.

A lot of East Coast cities were like that at one time. The Bishop or Archbishop was buddies with the Mayor, so things simply got overlooked, you know...

This Buffalo area is like that, even today. In earlier decades, it was definitely a good Catholic town.

And so, we get what is described in the OP.

Damn, that makes me mad!

trotsky

(49,533 posts)

3. A worldwide phenomenon.

Reply to MineralMan (Reply #2)

Fri May 31, 2019, 02:12 PM

May 2019

Look at Ireland, which really was basically a Catholic country for so very long. And look at just how severe their scandals have been. Coincidence? Hardly.

MineralMan

(147,575 posts)

4. Good example. It's also a good example of violence

Reply to trotsky (Reply #3)

Fri May 31, 2019, 02:18 PM

May 2019

between two segments of Christianity. This is why there is supposed to be separation of church and state in our country.

Sadly, that is honored more in the breach than the observance, it seems.