Following instructions from Pope Francis, for the first time the Catholic Church in Mexico has turned a priest in to authorities.
The move follows instructions from Pope Francis for the Catholic Church to better protect children and take a hard line with priests accused of sexual offenses.
Meanwhile in the USA Pope Francis has not prevented Catholic Church lawyers from using a magical loophole that absolves the church of legal responsibility for crimes committed by its priests: a holy punch clock. "A priest is not on duty when he is molesting a child, for example.”
First time in Mexico: priest accused of abuse faces criminal charges
David Agren Catholic News Service | Jun. 4, 2014 Share on facebook Share on twitter More Sharing Services 1 PrintemailPDF Mexico City
A priest in north central Mexico has been stripped of his position by the Vatican and faces criminal charges in connection with alleged sexual abuse of a teenage boy. The case marks the first time the Catholic Church in Mexico has turned a priest in to authorities.
The move follows instructions from Pope Francis for the Catholic Church to better protect children and take a hard line with priests accused of sexual offenses. Father Eduardo Cordova Bautista, a priest in the Archdiocese of San Luis Potosi, was ordered in late April by the Vatican to face charges for allegedly abusing a 16-year-old boy in 2012. The actions were implemented in late May. His whereabouts were unknown, however.
"This is simply acting on a petition of the pope and what he's asking: that we collaborate completely with the judicial system," said Armando Martinez Gomez, president of the College of Catholic Lawyers of Mexico. There's more to NCR than what you read online. Subscribe today! Martinez told Desde la Fe, the Mexico City archdiocesan newspaper, that the church officials in San Luis Potosi opened an investigation in 2012, turned information over to the Vatican in January 2014, and received a response this past April.
The case of Father Cordova created a scandal in Mexico after journalist Sanjuana Martinez reported earlier in May that dozens of youth were allegedly abused by the priest over the past 25 years as he worked in Catholic institutions serving young people. Alberto Athie, a former priest and an early accuser of the disgraced Father Maciel Marcial Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, said there may be as many as 100 victims, Diario de San Luis reported. The actions taken against Father Cordova mark a change in Mexico, where cases of clerical abuse have often languished while dioceses have been slow to act.
"What I know is this is the first time in which there was a canonic procedure and a public complaint. This is not something to be proud of," Armando Martinez Gomez told Desde la Fe. "These news stories are always sad, but they have to be an example that the church does not tolerate nor will it tolerate this type of conduct, much less when it is has now been proven, in this case, by an Ecclesiastical Tribunal," he said.
Catholic church can't claim priest was 'off-duty': Editorial
Chris Naples and the Rev. Terence McAlinden on a trip to the Virgin Islands. Naples says the priest sexually assaulted him there and on other trips. (Courtesy Chris Naples) Print By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on June 03, 2014 at 7:00 PM, updated June 03, 2014 at 7:09 PM
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In a case of flawless logic, the Catholic Church’s lawyers have discovered a magical loophole that absolves the church of legal responsibility for crimes committed by its priests: a holy punch clock. Catholic priests, we now know — courtesy of a Delaware Supreme Court hearing in a New Jersey priest-abuse lawsuit — can be “off duty.”
When they’re not officially priests, lawyers for the Diocese of Trenton argued, the church shouldn’t be held responsible for their actions. “How do we determine when a priest is and is not on duty,” one justice asked. “Well,” the diocese’s lawyer explained, “you can determine a priest is not on duty when he is molesting a child, for example.”
See? Bulletproof. Abused by predatory priests?
Sorry, kids, they were off the clock. If their legal Hail Mary works, it would effectively cloak the Catholic Church in a legal state of grace. Bishops could argue that any time a priest breaks the law — in this case, he’s accused of molesting a boy during youth outings to Delaware — he’s on personal time, absolving the church of liability. Abused by predatory priests? Sorry, kids, they were off the clock.
The Delaware court released the church from the lawsuit because the now-grown victim couldn’t prove the trips — where he claims his priest molested him — were church-sanctioned. The suit has since been refiled in New Jersey, so church attorneys can try their “off-duty” claims again.
It’s a tough sell. Catholic rules are ironclad. Even off-duty priests are expected to stay celibate and single. If this “off-duty” sleight-of-hand succeeds, what else could priests do? Steal from the poor box? The church is obligated to answer for its priests’ attacks. While the church should have an opportunity to argue its legal responsibilities, this attempt to escape blame with a magical punch clock is as disgusting as it is silly.