Vatican defrocks one, removes eight others from ministry years after allegations

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gardenswithkids said:
(and honestly I think the “separation of Church and State” should prevent the courts from being able to bankrupt churches.)
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I agree with that.
 
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otm:
It would seem that you are suggesting that the victims should just “lump it”, that they should just - what, figure they had it coming to the? Figure that they are going to get their reward in heaven becasue Father violated their chastity, their youth, their innocense? Just get over it? You seem fairly set in your feelings that these victims somehow do not deserve to be compensated. What do you suggest is a just way of acknowledging what essentially amounts to rape?
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Thank you, otm.

I suggest that what we need to do is pray for those who have been harmed by priests. Their faith is frequently left shattered because of abuse. Many Catholics are willing to pray for the priests, (as well we should) but don’t pray for the victims. The fear that they will sue removes the compassion that we should feel for them.

I am grateful that victims of priest abuse exposed the problem so that it wouldn’t continue happening to others. Sure it shakes my faith to learn of such horrible crimes, but how much more would my faith be shaken if that crime happened to my own family members? And as we are all members of God’s family, it happened to our family.

In addition to praying for those victims, I think we should be thankful to them for helping to protect the rest of us from what they suffered. We can not compensate them for what they went through, but perhaps we can reward them for turning in criminals and reminding bishops to protect us.

Victims of priest abuse deserve our prayers and our gratitude; if we willingly gave them those, lawsuits probably wouldn’t be an issue.
 
otm,

Perhaps you do not realize this, but many dioceses are being threatened with, or are entering bankruptcy as a result of the financial burdern being placed on them by these lawsuits. There are several places that are threatened with complete liquidation of all properties, with lawsuits jumping to $400,000,000 and over. You can try to demonize me, or try to belittle my opinion, yet the truth is these lawsuits are every bit as abusive as the actual sexual abuse (the loss of souls is an eternal cost, no matter if that loss comes from abuse, or from Churches and schools being closed).

I would be the first in-line to codemn the Priests and Bishops involved with sexual abuse, I would also be the first to say that proven victims should receive any medical care they require to help them heal, and for as long as they need–Lord knows many of the victims are in great need of healing and it is a long lasting stain on the faith and upon the hearts if millions of innocent Catholics. No-one of a right thinking mind can defend such horrible actions and I am not at all sure how money somehow washes away the sin of the abuse or how it somehow washes away the pain the victims endure (other then medical care).

However…

It is immoral to knowingly take Churches and parishes away from the innocent faithful just for the sake of misguided justice. It is a simple basic truth that the faithful did not know about the abuses, and they should not be made to suffer as a result of a small percentage of clergy who did abuse. It is NOT just to threaten the faith of thousands, perhaps millions, by closing Churches, schools and ministries in order to pay the bloodlusting attorneys. You bet I think it is immoral, it is every bit as immoral as the sexual abuse is. A lost soul is a lost soul, and the victims are creating more victims…

I do not in anyway think that it is wrong for victims to seek medical help. I know way do I think the victims should just rollover and do nothing…the real action should be about cleaning-up the Church and removing abusing clergy, not about giving enormous sums of money to the victims.

This message is a general reply to all of your responses to me. I see no need to reply to each message.
 
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TPJCatholic:
otm,

Perhaps you do not realize this, but many dioceses are being threatened with, or are entering bankruptcy as a result of the financial burdern being placed on them by these lawsuits. There are several places that are threatened with complete liquidation of all properties, with lawsuits jumping to $400,000,000 and over. You can try to demonize me, or try to belittle my opinion, yet the truth is these lawsuits are every bit as abusive as the actual sexual abuse (the loss of souls is an eternal cost, no matter if that loss comes from abuse, or from Churches and schools being closed).

I would be the first in-line to codemn the Priests and Bishops involved with sexual abuse, I would also be the first to say that proven victims should receive any medical care they require to help them heal, and for as long as they need–Lord knows many of the victims are in great need of healing and it is a long lasting stain on the faith and upon the hearts if millions of innocent Catholics. No-one of a right thinking mind can defend such horrible actions and I am not at all sure how money somehow washes away the sin of the abuse or how it somehow washes away the pain the victims endure (other then medical care).

However…

It is immoral to knowingly take Churches and parishes away from the innocent faithful just for the sake of misguided justice. It is a simple basic truth that the faithful did not know about the abuses, and they should not be made to suffer as a result of a small percentage of clergy who did abuse. It is NOT just to threaten the faith of thousands, perhaps millions, by closing Churches, schools and ministries in order to pay the bloodlusting attorneys. You bet I think it is immoral, it is every bit as immoral as the sexual abuse is. A lost soul is a lost soul, and the victims are creating more victims…

I do not in anyway think that it is wrong for victims to seek medical help. I know way do I think the victims should just rollover and do nothing…the real action should be about cleaning-up the Church and removing abusing clergy, not about giving enormous sums of money to the victims.

This message is a general reply to all of your responses to me. I see no need to reply to each message.
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It is pretty easy to say that the ox was not worth much when it is not your ox that was gored. I suspect you would be singing a different tune if it was you, or your sibling, or a close relative who had been repeatedly abused. Your life hasn’t been ruined; that makes it very easy to say that someone els who’s life has been all but destroyed should not receive compensation. you haven’t lived through the trauma, the consequences to you psychologically and sexually (surprised that many of the abused have had, at best, rocky marriages; a number one or more divorces, very real loss of faith, and numerous identifiable psychological difficulties throughout their adult life?), and so it is easy to say that they have not right to compensation. Or are you saying something different?

My faith isn’t compromised if the church I go to is sold. Furthermore, no decision has been rendered that any of the parishes or schools can be reached by the creditors.

And interestingly, the surveys I have seen seem to be generating a lot of surprise, because most people are reporting that their faith hasn’t been compromised. So much for your millions of victims.
 
]"How does it help to ruin entire Dioceses over this issue? Who is healed? The faith of millions mya lie in the balance thanks to the victims who are choosing to make more victims. What they are doing is far worse then what was done to them."

I can’t believe what I am reading in this thread!!!

Where is the outrage over these heinous CRIMES? These are CRIMES we are talking about!!! Do you think that closing a church or parish, which are only buildings, can be a greater evil that what was done to innocent boys or girls?

IMHO: Someone who would lose his faith over this is probably not deeply rooted in true Catholicism, and would probably have left over many other issues, eventually.

IMHO: What are parents thinking, letting their kids go on extended UNCHAPERONED trips with priests, anyway? When my kids were younger, I would ALWAYS volunteer as class mother or extra pair of hands on ANY class trip, because I wanted to see for myself that kids were safe, and I don’t mean molestation, I mean just general safety: getting on and off the bus, crossing streets, staying together, not getting lost, too hungry, too tired, too bored, or too disruptive, etc. And those were relatively innocent times, too.

IMHO: The really sick thing that came out of all this was not the fact that priests have feet of clay, but that all this was COVERED UP. In return for a payment from the diocese, everyone hushed everything up. I would have reported the incident to the police immediately, I don’t care howhigh up the perpetrator was placed. This is a criminal matter as well as a civil matter. I think the existing diocese officials bear the greater burden of guilt in this matter.

IMHO: Priests should NEVER or RARELY be transferred out of their diocese. Same thing for bishops. What do you think???
 
One of the Archdioceses in my area is selling off all of it’s assets (save for the cemeteries) because of abuse settlements.

There are some cases of abuse in the province which have turned out to just be false allegations for money.

What a sad situation.

I dressed as Father Ted (I was a lapsed catholic at the time) for halloween one year and I heard nothing but jokes about priests and little boys.

My Aunt says that once money entered the picture she lost all respect for the accusers. I have to agree.
 
Maybe I am mistaken, but is it possible that the bankruptcies are ways of protecting a diocese against futures possible lawsuits?

And, the “closed parishes” are ususally due to severely declining attendance, due to inner city locations, aging population, and general lack of faith and interest in religion among both young and old in our secular culture?

I personally don’t know of anyone whose faith in God was shattered by the scandal. But our faith in our bishops’ leaderships is severely shattered by their coverup and lack of guts to put a stop to these crimes.

I still don’t understand parents, though. My parents respected priests, they did not “pal around” with them. They revered them as priests, and looked up to them. They were off limits as social companions and fun friends, off limits to breezy familiarity.
 
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otm:
None of the law suits are based on need. They are based on a monetary valuation for harm caused.

If you have a significant problem with our judicial system of determining damages, then perhaps you might wish to suggest a meaningful alternative. Many people have suggested that it is a system that is somewhere between poor and very poor, but they have yet to propose an alternative. And most of those people who suggest that it is very poor either have never been damaged, or change their mid very rapidly when they have.

I know of no one who suggests that a monetary reward will relieve the pain and suffering that is the very real consequence of sexual abuse, but that is how we determine a just compensation to the victim. Justice says that if one has caused another pain and suffering, one has to compensate the other for that injustice.

It would seem that you are suggesting that the victims should just “lump it”, that they should just - what, figure they had it coming to the? Figure that they are going to get their reward in heaven becasue Father violated their chastity, their youth, their innocense? Just get over it? You seem fairly set in your feelings that these victims somehow do not deserve to be compensated. What do you suggest is a just way of acknowledging what essentially amounts to rape?
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It is an imperfect and very limited justice. Ultimate and perfect justice comes from God. Can you imagine God "paying off’ a victim of priestly sexual abuse as “just compensation”? There really is no way to monetary compensate for damage done. This is a wordly way of making imperfect settlements for damages done in a temporal realm and equation.

Part of the injustice to me is that the faithful flock are guilty by association. Why not limit the compensation to the resources of those directly and indirectly involved and their resources to compensate? I suspect that the income/greed of the lawyers (and others) in these lawsuits take the limits off of who is culpable in determining compensation.
 
I am wondering just how many of those who were hurt emotioinally by their priests, have embarked on becoming even more converted to the Lord and His sacraments? I know from my own sexual abuse, before I found the Church, that I became more involved in a Christian walk when I grew up and realized what had been done to me as a child. Since I have the TRUE church now, I would think that if I truely believed that the Catholic Church was Christ’s true church, that I would draw closer to Christ, the Church, and the Sacraments to gain healing and peace. There is no way that money would bring about any healing in my spirit and mind. If I could go back and sue the heck out of my father’s cousin (who is dead now) and gain monetary gain from this, I know for a fact that this would not help me spiritually, physically and mentally. Money does not heal. If anything it would only bring in a whole new factor to the equation, and that would be greed. The church is true regardless of how or what her priests or laymen and parishoners do. This is why the gates of hell cannot tear it down. There are wrong things being done by false teachers but this does not nullify the church that Christ organized through Peter. John
 
Don’t worry, folks.

While we squabble and chatter and jabber and fight amongst ourselves, there is a growing presence on the other side of the world that is totally unified in their viewpoints, beliefs, purposes, and goals.

And I can assure you: when the militant radical Muslims assume control of this country, this issue will be taken care of, trust me.
 
otm,

We will not agree.

There is no excuse for the sums of money being awarded. I am a victim of abuse myself (though not from the clergy), I know first-hand what it is like to be abused as a child and I can tell you that it is painful beyond description and it really never goes away. However, I am also an advocate of Jesus’ teaching that attacking our enemies is simply not the proper response. These lawsuits are a nuclear attack on the faith…you cannot see that, I feel you are blinded with rage for the horrors of what the abusing clergy did to our young (and I understand why you feel anger and rage, it is well founded).

Imo, the clergy sex abuse is satanic in nature, it created incedible pain and it MUST be erased from the Church…we will agree on its impact. However, I also believe that these lawsuits are a satanic attack on the Church…satan is laughing all the way through this cycle…he deceived men into the horrible abuse of our young, which caused many to be inflicted with horrible pain…now satan has tricked the victims of abuse into attacking the Church through lawsuits, whcih will do nothing but hurt innocent people.

You faith is not shaken, I am honestly glad to know that. The faith of many others is not shaken, I would argee to that as well. Yet, think of the many people who might not have a place to worship, or might not have access to the sacraments or might not have access to the Eucharist or fellowship or prayer with others or ministries or Catholic schools, etc. There are thousands, perhaps millions that are and will be impacted by satans attack on our Lord’s Church and the awards being given are just making the attack that much worse.

We are in a spiritual war everyday. Satan this attack up so that he cannot lose this round. He began it by bringing the wrong men into the clergy, followed by tricking those men into doing horrible things, and he is completing his damage by attacking the Church’sa finances, because satan knows in the world the Church must have money to operate.

I am now asking for no judgments against the Church, I am asking for balance and forgiveness on both sides. Yet the victims and their lawyers can only see blood and the judges seem to have no balance as well. It is a mess on both sides.
 
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Olympia:
Maybe I am mistaken, but is it possible that the bankruptcies are ways of protecting a diocese against futures possible lawsuits?
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The Oregon Archdioces, the first in the nation to file, filed intially because a number of suits had been settled, but insureres were refusing to cover the costs, two suits were filed for a total in the range of $150,000,000, and there were other potential suits. It is a means of protecting against suits for insidents prior to the filing, but would not (obviously, if you think about it) protect against suits for future acts.
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Olympia:
And, the “closed parishes” are ususally due to severely declining attendance, due to inner city locations, aging population, and general lack of faith and interest in religion among both young and old in our secular culture?
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Demographic changes are the largest source of this - the move to the suburbs.
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Olympia:
I personally don’t know of anyone whose faith in God was shattered by the scandal. But our faith in our bishops’ leaderships is severely shattered by their coverup and lack of guts to put a stop to these crimes.

I still don’t understand parents, though. My parents respected priests, they did not “pal around” with them. They revered them as priests, and looked up to them. They were off limits as social companions and fun friends, off limits to breezy familiarity.
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a certian amount of this occured in situations where the teenager was legitimately elsewhere than the home and/or parental supervision. Priests were considered to be very holy, and many, if not most parents at that time would not have conceived of the thought that a priest would do such a thing.
 
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felra:
It is an imperfect and very limited justice. Ultimate and perfect justice comes from God. Can you imagine God "paying off’ a victim of priestly sexual abuse as “just compensation”? There really is no way to monetary compensate for damage done. This is a wordly way of making imperfect settlements for damages done in a temporal realm and equation.

Part of the injustice to me is that the faithful flock are guilty by association. Why not limit the compensation to the resources of those directly and indirectly involved and their resources to compensate? I suspect that the income/greed of the lawyers (and others) in these lawsuits take the limits off of who is culpable in determining compensation.
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Two things to keep in mind.

The Church, as it operates in the United States acts under the law as a corporation; it is a non-profit corporation, but a corporation none the less. The legal question afoot is whether the diocese owns all the assets with in the diocese, or whether the parishes own the property, and funds that may be held by the dioces (and invested) on their behalf for future buildings, or future expenses.

As a corporation, the action against the Church is similar to any major corporation which may have harmed people (e.g. the tobacco companies, or, for example, a lead mining company that did not control polution and caused lead poisoning). Both types of corporations may be bankrupted by their own actions harming others and the lawsuits to recover damages.

In this case, it is crystal clear in many cases that the leaders of the corporation - the bishops and others working in the chanceries, had direct knowledge of the actions of the priests, the potential for future harm, and the responsibility to protect the innocent.

Before you take off on lawyers, you need to remember that lawyers don’t win a dime if the jury doesn’t award it. Juries are more than willing to “write the check”, which is why the attorneys file the damage claims. If attorneys couldn’t get the juries to award hugh damages, we wouldn’t be seeing them.

Query: have you ever been called for jury duty? And did you serve?

The flock is no more gulity by association than an employee who had no control over the polution, or a stock holder who also had no contorl - and even more likely no knowledge.

If anyone told you that life is fair, or pure justice is done in our courts, I have news for you - they lied. I agree that at times things seem unfair, but I offer the challenge - come up with a better system.

Two other thoughts: if it were not for the hugh lawsuits, some diocese’ would undoubtedly still have these bozos in parishes. If you don’t think so, realize that this was known in the 50’s, and started to blow up in the 80’s, and was going on still in the 90s.
  1. there may be some false suits. But you, I suspect, have never been grilled by a good defense attorney; if you are going to lie, you had better be extremely good at it, because you don’t know where the inconsistencies are going to be found. Pain and suffereing awards have been around for a very long time. Some people feel they are unfair. Great; come up with a better system. Note, I am not saying that it is a perfect system, or even a great one. But many who don’t like it have never had the pleasure of being damaged seriously; maybe talking with one of them might change your mind about whether they are getting an unfair compensation, or whether it is nowhere near enough.
 
John Dove:
I am wondering just how many of those who were hurt emotioinally by their priests, have embarked on becoming even more converted to the Lord and His sacraments? I know from my own sexual abuse, before I found the Church, that I became more involved in a Christian walk when I grew up and realized what had been done to me as a child. Since I have the TRUE church now, I would think that if I truely believed that the Catholic Church was Christ’s true church, that I would draw closer to Christ, the Church, and the Sacraments to gain healing and peace. There is no way that money would bring about any healing in my spirit and mind. If I could go back and sue the heck out of my father’s cousin (who is dead now) and gain monetary gain from this, I know for a fact that this would not help me spiritually, physically and mentally. Money does not heal. If anything it would only bring in a whole new factor to the equation, and that would be greed. The church is true regardless of how or what her priests or laymen and parishoners do. This is why the gates of hell cannot tear it down. There are wrong things being done by false teachers but this does not nullify the church that Christ organized through Peter. John
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I am very sorry that you were abused; no one should ever have tyo endure that.

I don’t disagree that money will not heal; certainly not perfectly. It is the best system we have come up with.

Remember also that they were harmed in such a vile and viloent way by the very person who is supposed to embody what the Church stands for. I am surprised that not all lost their faith.
 
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TPJCatholic:
otm,

We will not agree.

There is no excuse for the sums of money being awarded. I am a victim of abuse myself (though not from the clergy), I know first-hand what it is like to be abused as a child and I can tell you that it is painful beyond description and it really never goes away. However, I am also an advocate of Jesus’ teaching that attacking our enemies is simply not the proper response. These lawsuits are a nuclear attack on the faith…you cannot see that, I feel you are blinded with rage for the horrors of what the abusing clergy did to our young (and I understand why you feel anger and rage, it is well founded).

Imo, the clergy sex abuse is satanic in nature, it created incedible pain and it MUST be erased from the Church…we will agree on its impact. However, I also believe that these lawsuits are a satanic attack on the Church…satan is laughing all the way through this cycle…he deceived men into the horrible abuse of our young, which caused many to be inflicted with horrible pain…now satan has tricked the victims of abuse into attacking the Church through lawsuits, whcih will do nothing but hurt innocent people.

You faith is not shaken, I am honestly glad to know that. The faith of many others is not shaken, I would argee to that as well. Yet, think of the many people who might not have a place to worship, or might not have access to the sacraments or might not have access to the Eucharist or fellowship or prayer with others or ministries or Catholic schools, etc. There are thousands, perhaps millions that are and will be impacted by satans attack on our Lord’s Church and the awards being given are just making the attack that much worse.

We are in a spiritual war everyday. Satan this attack up so that he cannot lose this round. He began it by bringing the wrong men into the clergy, followed by tricking those men into doing horrible things, and he is completing his damage by attacking the Church’sa finances, because satan knows in the world the Church must have money to operate.

I am now asking for no judgments against the Church, I am asking for balance and forgiveness on both sides. Yet the victims and their lawyers can only see blood and the judges seem to have no balance as well. It is a mess on both sides.
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My diocese was the first to file. I understand what is at stake.

We probably agree more than you realize, but read my recent posts. Before you damn all attorneys, realize that it is juries who award the big money; they are the finders of fact, they write the check. Attorneys accomplish nothing except the presentation of the case; the jury makes the decision.

It is only the fact that hugh suits were filed that we have rolled up a couple of bishops (Law comes to mind, as well as the one who resigned - in Florida, I think). FRankly, I would like to have seen Law do jail time. I flat don’t believe him when he tried to weasle out of responsibility.

And if Satan is afoot, I submit: who invited him in? More than a couple of bad priests; you can include the bishops who failed to respond.
 
One thing that must be remembered in this conversation, is that justice is no an isolated issue, something to be had only between vicitm and perpetrator.

Justice is also a very public issue, and it impacts many more than just the victim and the perpetrator. A large judgement may be perceived as greed on the part of the victim, and/or the attorney. However, it resounds a long way away from them; it resounds throughout society, and hopefully will cause a change of behavior in many - Catholic bishops, priests, laity, parents, Episcopalians, Methodists, evangelical churches, public schools, the Boy Scouts, and any other goupr which interfaces with or has oversight of children.

This stuff has been going on since, probably, not long after Adam. Most of the sexual abuse has been within families, but to think that it has not occured between children and other non-family adults is at best pollyanna - like naievety. We have credible law suits going back to the 1950s; well before anyone’s favorite whipping boy, Vatican 2. The protection of the abusers was still going on in the 1990s, after the first big cases had broke ground in the 1980’s. It has taken the multi million dollar law suits to get the bishops of their collective rear ends to jointly do something; and the reports are that there are a few who still really don’t get it.

I don’t disagree that money is not going to cure anyone. But if you take a bigger view than just the dollar amount and the victim, perhaps you will see that ultimately, we may come closer to justice in the issue than we would if these all got quietly settled for a small sum.
 
otm I learned about the priest abuse scandal years before I converted. I was not someone with a vested interest in the outcome and had no dog in the fight. Simply because this was news and because I saw several interviews with the Boston Globe reporters who broke the case I did do a lot of reading on the subject. I think early on when the really egregious behavior of a few priests and their protecting bishops was revealed, the victims were very sympathetic. However long before I decided to convert I lost a LOT of sympathy, not for the victims but for the complaintants. Note, not everyone who was abused has sued and not everyone who has sued was abused. Nor do the awards always reflect the abuse as a proximate cause of real emotional or physical damage.

If I thought that
  1. Money would heal the pain
  2. The awards were commensurate with the actual damage
  3. That everyone receiving money was truly a victim
  4. That lawyers would not be profiting unjustly
  5. That the size of the awards were not intended to be punative
  6. THat the many good works of the Church would not be compromised to benefit a few
Then I’d believe the awards were just and deserved. I don’t. You are wrong that the lawyers only get paid IF they win. There are many lawyers in our diocese being paid right now to sue the Church. The lawyers are being paid as this thing wends its way through the legal process. Most people do not believe it will be settled for ten years. How much money is going to lawyers that could be feeding people, housing them, and educating them?

You don’t think there are any false or undeserved claims? I know of at least one and there are undoubtedly more. A man I know was REPEATEDLY solicited by attorneys who learned he had been an altar boy at a parish where a priest had been abusive to some of the young men. He told them point blank he had no incidents to report nor any emotional damage from working with the priests. He was told that basically at this point the church was considered guily and there was no reason not to jump on the bandwagon and get something. It has turned into a class action lawsuit. All you have to do is show you had some contact with an abusive priest. He has now filed a claim and says what does he have to lose? Multiply that by how many?

You are correct that abusive and predatory homosexuals have been damaging young people for thousands of years. The difference is the perpetrators didn’t have the perceived wealth of the Church. In this state we’ve seen the director of Baloney Joe’s convicted of preying on young men, the recent case of a parole officer doing the same, more than one teacher has preyed upon a student. Where are the multimillion dollar lawsuits for THOSE victims? Why do our victims deserve millions and the poor street kids abused by Michael Stoops deserve nothing?

I have lost sympathy for this cause because now it is all about retribution, greed and punishment. It is not about healing anyone’s pain. It’s about following the money and seeing a fat cat fall. I realize you will never agree with me or some of the others. I don’t know if you have an ox being gored or believe your point is more balanced. But your mind is certainly made up as is mine.

Lisa N
 
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otm:
Two things to keep in mind.

The Church, as it operates in the United States acts under the law as a corporation; it is a non-profit corporation, but a corporation none the less. The legal question afoot is whether the diocese owns all the assets with in the diocese, or whether the parishes own the property, and funds that may be held by the dioces (and invested) on their behalf for future buildings, or future expenses.

As a corporation, the action against the Church is similar to any major corporation which may have harmed people (e.g. the tobacco companies, or, for example, a lead mining company that did not control polution and caused lead poisoning). Both types of corporations may be bankrupted by their own actions harming others and the lawsuits to recover damages.

In this case, it is crystal clear in many cases that the leaders of the corporation - the bishops and others working in the chanceries, had direct knowledge of the actions of the priests, the potential for future harm, and the responsibility to protect the innocent.

Before you take off on lawyers, you need to remember that lawyers don’t win a dime if the jury doesn’t award it. Juries are more than willing to “write the check”, which is why the attorneys file the damage claims. If attorneys couldn’t get the juries to award hugh damages, we wouldn’t be seeing them.

Query: have you ever been called for jury duty? And did you serve?

The flock is no more gulity by association than an employee who had no control over the polution, or a stock holder who also had no contorl - and even more likely no knowledge.

If anyone told you that life is fair, or pure justice is done in our courts, I have news for you - they lied. I agree that at times things seem unfair, but I offer the challenge - come up with a better system.

Two other thoughts: if it were not for the hugh lawsuits, some diocese’ would undoubtedly still have these bozos in parishes. If you don’t think so, realize that this was known in the 50’s, and started to blow up in the 80’s, and was going on still in the 90s.
  1. there may be some false suits. But you, I suspect, have never been grilled by a good defense attorney; if you are going to lie, you had better be extremely good at it, because you don’t know where the inconsistencies are going to be found. Pain and suffereing awards have been around for a very long time. Some people feel they are unfair. Great; come up with a better system. Note, I am not saying that it is a perfect system, or even a great one. But many who don’t like it have never had the pleasure of being damaged seriously; maybe talking with one of them might change your mind about whether they are getting an unfair compensation, or whether it is nowhere near enough.
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Your explanation of the legal rationale for interested third parties profiting immensely by suing the Church (Christians suing Christians bye the way) does not make it right. It defies the common sense of the average faithful flock sitting in the pew each Sunday giving donation to the Church they love founded and headed by Jesus Christ.

The imperfect legal system is solely based on profit/revenue incentive. Put a reasonable limit on the monetary “compensation” and keep legal salaries on par with Social Workers, then see how many principled folks for justice hang around the legal profession. I do not agree that it took large sums of money to bring a needed purging to the Church—media exposure did this, not the huge sums of money paid out to victims and lawyer profits.

Understood sytemically as the living Body of Christ, Jesus preached a more perfect way of settling differences amongst believers to avoid getting snared in the legal system: Matthew 5:23-26.
 
otm,

I have no doubt that satan was involved from the beginning of this mess and is around now to make sure the mess becomes even worse…which is really all that is happening as a result of the lawsuits. The grossly huge awards is not justice…it is merely punishing entire dioceses and faithful Catholics. The lawyers do not give the award, but they and the judges could help steer these awards to something more reasonable and just.
 
otm,

A solution is simple. Limit the amount of any award tom 20% of the total worth of any diocese.
 
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