In the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the known predators number in the dozens; their victims, far more.
Yet former Philadelphia cardinals Anthony Bevilacqua and Justin Rigali kept their jobs until retirement. They suffered no fallout for moving credibly accused pedophiles around the Archdiocese like Monopoly pieces.
Why are there real and painful consequences for Penn State's higher-ups, but not for those in the Archdiocese?
The answer, says attorney Marci Hamilton, is simple:
Penn State University, as a taxpayer-funded institution, is accountable to the people of Pennsylvania.
The Roman Catholic Church, as a monarchy, answers to no one, she says.
Hamilton is author of the fabulous Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children. The book ought to be required reading for anyone who needs convincing that sexually abused kids deserve their day in court, no matter how old they are when they come to terms with what was done to them. The book also compellingly argues that the horror of child sexual abuse will continue unless the statute of limitations is lifted on prosecution of abusers and their enablers.
In explaining the Roman Catholic monarchy, Hamilton writes on Justia.com (where she blogs about religion and the law), those on "the lower rungs of the [Roman Catholic] ladder . . . look up to the higher, and the higher may offer a ring to kiss or a blessing. But they are not required - as part of the organizational arrangement - to account for their decisions."
That's why it was such a relief when former Philly District Attorney Lynne Abraham convened the first grand-jury investigation into sex abuse in the Archdiocese. The grand jury's report was released in 2005.
