It's Thursday. That Must Mean It's Time for a New Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal

[Pointless Digression]

Father Riccardo Seppia is a priest under one of the advisors Ratzinger appointed to oversee church reforms following the pedophilia scandals.

Want to guess how this little story ends?

Investigators examining tapped cellphone conversations between a Moroccan drug dealer and 51-year-old Father Riccardo Seppia found evidence of arranged sexual encounters with young boys, some of whom were paid for sex with cocaine.

"I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger," Seppia is accused of having said on the tapes. "Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues."

[Jude]

At the bottom of the article you gave there's a link to another source that's more professional and fact oriented:  http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2072613,00.html?xid=rss-world - I would suggest that people read this.

Upon reviewing both articles however, I didn't find even a shred of information that looks good for the priest in question, but at least there's no evidence of a coverup or authoritarian protection from the Church this time.  It is a bit distressing however that this guy was one of the Pope's trusted guys on pedophilia.

Nice vetting, Emperor Popentine.

[Pointless Digression]

*facedesk*

It gets worse. It gets so much worse. This is beyond satire...I can't properly describe how horrified I am.

In this particular case, the predator is HIV positive. He was aware of this and still coerced young boys into sex.

[Brandon]

There are monsters in every profession and the answer is simple. Hold a Trial and if found guilty punish him according to the justice system he falls under. End of story

[Callie Del Noire]

There are monsters in every profession and the answer is simple. Hold a Trial and if found guilty punish him according to the justice system he falls under. End of story

The problem is the Church does far too much, even today, to aide and abet these men.

I am no longer outraged by these things, but saddened. Terribly saddened by it.

Religion should be a thing to uplift, support and guide us. Not a sham behind which the most base of our instincts are hidden and which is used to seduce the weak and innocent.

The worse offenses seem to be simple denial that the way the church today is a thing that has create a culture where these... fiends can not only hide, but thrive in the pursuit of their own personal needs at the cost of those they are supposed to be supporting and guiding.

Reform is DECADES overdue and sadly with the structure of the church as it is today, you'll never see it. The Vatican has been far too long involved in hiding and denying these things. Too many policy makers have done too much to support change for fear of those they would turn over to authorities pointing fingers at them.

It makes me terribly sad.


And it makes me want to kick something. Hard. Repeatedly but my feet are already too sore from that sort of behavior.

[Brandon]

Callie did you not read the articles? I didnt see anything that said that church was protecting him. If I missed that, ok but youll need to point it out to me for this individual case.

On that note I have to ask to just everyone in general. Why does it matter? The answer: it doesnt. In reality this would be no different if it was a politician, a teacher, a CEO, a movie star, or a construction worker. Yet people always make it a big deal just because its a priest

[Callie Del Noire]

Callie did you not read the articles? I didnt see anything that said that church was protecting him. If I missed that, ok but youll need to point it out to me for this individual case.

On that note I have to ask to just everyone in general. Why does it matter? The answer: it doesnt. In reality this would be no different if it was a politician, a teacher, a CEO, a movie star, or a construction worker. Yet people always make it a big deal just because its a priest

Not in these cases, but it seems to me the structure of the Church is in full Damage Control Mode these days. Deny Deny, dodge, and arbitrate to keep things out of court or to lessen media impact.

Sadly it seem that the Catholic Church needs to fix itself in ways it seems institutionally incapable of. Sorry if I didn't comment more specifically on the articles. The priest with HIV just.. depresses the hell out of me.

What are these men thinking? Do they really understand the role they studied for?

Anyway, I could comment more on the need for reform but short of several dozen church leaders dropping dead at once and a sign from above in letters 20 feet high I don't see it happening fast enough.

One of the telling points I've noticed about the Catholic Church (and this is NOT a slam on the church but a comment) is that totally lack of influence the lay worshiper has on policy. They can feel one way and the Church is free to ignore them. I know with the Churches I've been part of there was some level of influence from the lay worshipers. Not always a lot but some.

[Oniya]

Since you asked:

I'd frankly rate everything you listed (including the priest) except for the construction worker on about the same level - and the only reason that the construction worker gets a minimal pass is because he's not a position of authority.  Further refining, the teacher, the priest and the movie star (because I realize how star-struck kids are about entertainers) would rank a bit above the politician and the CEO, since kids (we're not talking college interns, after all) feel the authority of those three somewhat more acutely than the other two.  Going a bit further:  priest and teacher are more likely to have access to kids in a position where the parents trust them - at least since that whole Neverland thing.  Parents probably trust priests a smidgen more than teachers because of that 'vow of celibacy' that's supposed to be in force - that and Mary Kay LeTourneau.

Mind you, I'm still splitting the grading rather fine, since these are just varying levels of reprehensibility.  (And for what it's worth, when they have a teacher involved in child molestation, it's a pretty big deal as well.)

[Brandon]

Once again Thank you for pointing out exactly what I was trying to say Oniya.

In the grand scheme of things it doesnt matter what his job was but because he was a priest this thread gets made

[Oniya]

One major thing that sets this particular guy apart is that he was in charge of overseeing reforms in the wake of the sex abuse scandals.  This would be like if the head of the 'Special Victims Unit' was caught hanging around the playground offering candy to kids from a van with blacked-out windows.

[Callie Del Noire]

One major thing that sets this particular guy apart is that he was in charge of overseeing reforms in the wake of the sex abuse scandals.  This would be like if the head of the 'Special Victims Unit' was caught hanging around the playground offering candy to kids from a van with blacked-out windows.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[Oniya]

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Exactly.

[Callie Del Noire]

I find my inner cynic wondering if there are more pedophiles further up the chain of command in the Vactican.

[Brandon]

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

All of us. We all need to be vigilant when we see the signs but think about it, do you discuss your sex life and sexual preferences and kinks with people in your everyday life with maybe the exception of your significant other or people on Elliquiy? I kind of doubt it, so I doubt there were warning signs of what this guy was up to inside the catholic church especially considering their views of sex and sexuality

On that note, to be completely honest I dont believe this thread was made to talk about the actual issue of his connections, his crimes, or his abuse of power. I believe that this thread was made for the same reason that this thread was made and locked for. So Im stepping away now

[Callie Del Noire]

True... and a valid point Brandon.

Sorry if I made it confrontational.

[Noelle]

In the grand scheme of things it doesnt matter what his job was but because he was a priest this thread gets made

Er, exactly? Maybe you should refer to the cartoon that came along with it. Nobody's saying that it's magically a worse crime because it's a priest -- molesting kids is molesting kids no matter who you are and I would feel equally disgusted at the act itself if it were a plumber or a musician. However, pretending that there isn't a disturbing trend in this profession in general is willfully ignorant. If there was an outbreak of plumbers who were fiddling kiddies, I'd expect due diligence in scrutinizing whatever fraternity or union or secret society they were apart of, too. But they're not and trying to control or silence unfavorable news towards priests isn't flattering for you. Post news about other pedophiles, if you'd like, nobody's stopping you. It would be perfectly fair.

If part of your job is acting like the moral authority, then expect to see criticism when you're not. It's really that easy.

[Remiel]

On that note, to be completely honest I dont believe this thread was made to talk about the actual issue of his connections, his crimes, or his abuse of power. I believe that this thread was made for the same reason that this thread was made and locked for. So Im stepping away now

Actually, Brandon has a point.  It's not a controversial position to take to say that the Catholic Church has a serious problem with protecting and hiding some of its priests who prey on children.

Even so, let's remember that there are many good people who are practicing Catholics--including members of E.  Let's be careful about framing our arguments in an inflammatory manner.  We can talk about the particular problems that the Church needs to address without ridiculing the entire faith.

I don't think this thread needs to be locked, but in the future, let's all please tone down the rhetoric.  I understand that this is an emotional issue for many people, but we're all adults here.