All Bishops should be required to swear that they have not committed child abuse or covered it up at any stage in their lives

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FiveLinden

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Thinking about what Pope Francis can do with the proffered resignations of 34 Brazilian Bishops it occurs to me that it would be simple to require them to swear that their had neither abused children not covered up abuse. Those who would not swear could then be asked to account for themselves and an investigation could be undertaken. And then all bishops everywhere could be asked to do the same. And then it could be extended to others - priests, religious and lay officials. Liars of course could protect themselves. But it would be hard for them to continue in their roles.
 
God tells us we should not swear on anything or about anything.

Jesus says just say a simple yes or no
 
I’ll play a little devil’s advocate, before this thread disappears. One of the potential problems with this idea is that some bishops honestly believe they were not covering up reports of clergy sex abuse, but were dealing with it in an appropriate way. I’m basing this mainly on the clergy sex abuse files of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which were made public several years ago. The prevailing thought among Church officials until fairly recently was that a pedophile priest could somehow “pray away” this disorder, and that with enough contrition, willpower, and maybe some counseling, the offender would not offend again and would be once more be fit for parochial duty. I think many bishops honestly believed this, and they even had certain psychologists or experts who would back them up in this mistaken notion, and so they would in good conscience say there was no cover-up. I think, or I hope, that we all know better now: that this tendency is so strong and vicious that proven offenders must be permanently removed from public ministry, but this just was not understood or acknowledged enough years ago.
 
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Are you demanding the double pinky swear, or the cross your heart one?

And if one did not respond as we now expect, are they not allowed the act of confession and the opportunity to correct their behavior?
 
christofirst said:
I’ll play a little devil’s advocate, before this thread disappears. One of the potential problems with this idea is that some bishops honestly believe they were not covering up reports of clergy sex abuse, but were dealing with it in an appropriate way. I’m basing this mainly on the clergy sex abuse files of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which were made public several years ago. The prevailing thought among Church officials until fairly recently was that a pedophile priest could somehow “pray away” this disorder, and that with enough contrition, willpower, and maybe some counseling, the offender would not offend again and would be once more be fit for parochial duty. I think many bishops honestly believed this, and they even had certain psychologists or experts who would back them up in this mistaken notion, and so they would in good conscience say there was no cover-up. I think, or I hope, that we all know better now: that this tendency is so strong and vicious that proven offenders must be permanently removed from public ministry, but this just was not understood or acknowledged enough years ago
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These Bishops would explain their reasons for not being willing to swear and their cases could be be assessed.
 
Theo520 said:
Are you demanding the double pinky swear, or the cross your heart one?

And if one did not respond as we now expect, are they not allowed the act of confession and the opportunity to correct their behavior?
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I would like an oath that was of similar import to the vows taken at ordination. This process would have nothing to do with confession or spiritual forgiveness. It has to do with keeping children safe and ensuring people who pose a risk because of doing their job badly are identified and managed.
 
It’s a silly request since they’ve always had that obligation, both as a priest and as per our rule of law.

Many did fail in that task, but it wasn’t for lack of obligation on their part.
 
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thank you for the correction. we at least need to get the facts straight about which country they are in!
 
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