Vatican told bishops to cover up sex abuse

[Az]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1020400,00.html

Excerpt
----------------------
The Vatican instructed Catholic bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse or risk being thrown out of the Church.
The Observer has obtained a 40-year-old confidential document from the secret Vatican archive which lawyers are calling a 'blueprint for deception and concealment'. One British lawyer acting for Church child abuse victims has described it as 'explosive'.

The 69-page Latin document bearing the seal of Pope John XXIII was sent to every bishop in the world. The instructions outline a policy of 'strictest' secrecy in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse and threatens those who speak out with excommunication.

They also call for the victim to take an oath of secrecy at the time of making a complaint to Church officials. It states that the instructions are to 'be diligently stored in the secret archives of the Curia as strictly confidential. Nor is it to be published nor added to with any commentaries.'

The document, which has been confirmed as genuine by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, is called 'Crimine solicitationies', which translates as 'instruction on proceeding in cases of solicitation'.



On Edit: Was meant for LBN. Note to self, limit open DU windows to 1.

[realFedUp]

1. since thread isn't locked

You have to wonder now about any abuses by the Pope.
They are all fair game now.

[OrdinaryTa]

2. This is OLD Stuff

This is not Latest Breaking News, in fact it's pretty stale. And contested, as well.

[Az]

3. Been in a blackout for a couple of days

So the current addition of the Guardian qualifies as new to me. Plus its not like we have never heard of spin and damage control. The vatican is a world power that has known its share of scandals and coverups. This is not bashing. It is digging for the truth. I am sure the many good catholics that post here would want to know if the current representitives were doing the best job of representing their religion. Unless of course you believe that religious leaders are infallible.

[flyingfish]

4. This article is a distortion

Read this article for the correct translation.
http://www.pittsburghcatholic.org/newsarticles_more.phtml?id=959