Several Diocese have filed bankruptcy due to the number of civil suits filed against priests.

I dont believe people should be allowed to file civil suits for punitive damages in these abuse cases. In reality, how the hell does money correct any damage done?

These priests should be punished the same way the rest of the countries child molestors are----- prison time, strip them from their affiliation with the church, and make them register as sex offenders. The members of the Catholic Diocese who helped cover it up should be punished in a way other than financially. Make them pay for any medical, mental health, prescription costs etc...... But i dont agree with these multi-million dollar settlements. How exactly is that punishing them---the individual/s who actually committed the crime?


your opinions?

I agree. If they are not locked up, they are free to commit the crime again.

As far as I can tell, it’s the only legal mechanism existing to punish an organization for cover-ups/carelessness etc. The point isn’t really that the money makes it up to the victims so much as it makes it a financial burden for the organization not to exercise proper oversight in the future. It’s not like the government can go in and restructure the Catholic Church, they can only arrest people after a crime has been committed.

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If the Catholic church handled things better (removing suspected priests immediately) they might have avoid most of these lawsuits.

Victim's rights groups say the church is still in a state of denial.

oops

I don't think it's either/or in terms of whether people get locked up or not. A civil suit isn't filed by the government, and the decision to arrest and prosecute someone isn't made by the victim.

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