Should a Catholic Sue the Church?

[choy]

Both. If the abuse happens in the course of the priest’s job, than his employer (the church) also has some obligation to make amends. The therapy one may need to deal with such abuse isn’t free. The other thing is, and it’s not unique to the Catholic Church, large institutions tend not to make changes until hit in the wallet. —*just one person’s opinion.

i agree except that the Church is not just any institution

the money the Church has goes into something thats for its members or the various charitable works it does. the thousands or millions of dollars going into the pockets of the victims means these money won’t go into funding for missions in places like Africa or Haiti, or some near-condemned (building-code wise) Church doesn’t get the repairs it needs to keep its doors open

 

[TiggerS]

It is The Church who has put these people in a position of authority and trust and therefore The Church has some moral obligation towards victims - and possibly it may be that only through a payout of compensation in dollars that victims may be able to develop a sense of indeed having been victims. These victims of abuse by people in authority in The Church are also deserving equally of The Church’s Charity through dollars allocated to their welfare and well being.

TS

 

[H_Opey]

@JosephDaniel
It also says in the bible that it would be better for a millstone to be tied around the neck and the person cast into the sea than to cause a little one to sin.
If that had been done the first instance, report, of molestation, there wouldn’t be as many victims today.
But, I think we can agree that there will be times when although the best way is to handle it through the Church - that is sadly not always the case. Not all Bishops have done what they were supposed to do.
Money is money. These victims will need care probably for the rest of their lives. God always provides.
It may mean we have to cut back and do without, but that should be done with joy, because taking care of the victims FIRST is the right thing to do.

 

[Doc_Keele]

no its not

abuses happen everywhere, even in schools

there’s only so much we can do. unless we install 24/7 cameras on every priest, teacher, doctor, etc. something will happen in secret somewhere

Straw man argument. I’m talking about having proportionate measures in place, rather than simply relying on trust.

Your sort of fatalism is exactly the right way to let abuse carry on unchecked.

 

[lutherlic]

It is The Church that has put people (and in the eyes of the faithful, elevated them) into positions of authority and just as The Church claims their virtuous lives, She must also claim their sinful lives - and in the interests of transparency and of Justice as being seen to be done. What worries me about these abuse crimes is that The Church in some cases does not appear to be transparent nor in some cases even seen to be acting in Justice and this can only damage The Church further adding crime to crime. I think victims have every right to sue The Church.

TS

Legal right maybe. I don’t think that is the OP’s question.

Unlike a corporation, suing the Church does not deprive shareholders of profits. Instead, it deprives the poor of services. Instead of alleviating damage, it causes more damage.

If the goal is to impact the mission of the Church until it is reformed in the victim’s eyes, then it would make sense to put the money aside and return it to the Church a a later date. I have never heard of that happening.

My assumption is that the victims are encouraged, maybe manipulated, by lawyers. I have often wondered if any of the lawyers were practicing Catholics.

 

[TiggerS]

Legal right maybe. I don’t think that is the OP’s question.

Unlike a corporation, suing the Church does not deprive shareholders of profits. Instead, it deprives the poor of services. Instead of alleviating damage, it causes more damage.

If the goal is to impact the mission of the Church until it is reformed in the victim’s eyes, then it would make sense to put the money aside and return it to the Church a a later date. I have never heard of that happening.

My assumption is that the victims are encouraged, maybe manipulated, by lawyers. I have often wondered if any of the lawyers were practicing Catholics.

Unlike a corporation, suing the Church does not deprive shareholders of profits. Instead, it deprives the poor of services. Instead of alleviating damage, it causes more damage.

Thank you for the response. Victims of abuse by those in some sort of authority and trust in The Church have become one of the poor in need of The Church’s Charity also through justice, care and concern and perhaps also through the provision of monies for their future welfare and well being.

My assumption is that the victims are encouraged, maybe manipulated, by lawyers. I have often wondered if any of the lawyers were practicing Catholics

Certainly a potential scenario.

The question raised “Should victrims of abuse sue The Church?” is a decision for the victims. I think that possibly, The Church being sued successfully is a public statement of guilt on the part of The Church and may hasten The Church to put in place insofar as it is conceivable all necessaries to prevent possibilities of child abuse occuring again in the future. It may also be necessary to sue The Church for victims to actually feel that they are in fact victims and have been guiltless victims at the hands of authority and positions of trust. It may also be necessary for victims to sue The Church in order to have available monies to undergo therapy and counselling.

Perhaps The Church Herself must publicly answer the question for the Catholic victims of abuse and whether The Church can in justice be sued justly in a court of law or not and by those Catholics who are victims of abuse. It may be a moral matter for Catholic abuse victims and a question that The Church needs to address publicly.

TS

 

[choy]

Straw man argument. I’m talking about having proportionate measures in place, rather than simply relying on trust.

Your sort of fatalism is exactly the right way to let abuse carry on unchecked.

then what do you propose?

in my parish, everyone gets to have their police records checked for everyone who deals with children (i’m a catechist so i gave the parish the permission to request for my police records)

is that enough? what would be enough to satisfy you?

like i said, there’s only so much we can do