Spend some time reading the reactions from the apologists of the Catholic Church leaders after another scandal or article about their protection of pedophiles and it often includes shots at the greedy trial lawyers who are really driving all of the cases.
Statute of Limitations should be expanded? It's the greedy lawyers who want more cases.
Full disclosure of known abusers It's the greedy lawyers wanting more targets.
Zero Tolerance needs to stand for something It's the victims wanting money and not taking responsibility.
Having done personal injury work for over 21 years, I am no stranger to the "you just want money" responses. However, there was a story this week from The Economist that got me wondering:
According the their research, the Catholic Church spends about $171,600,000,000 a year. That is one big number. During the last 15 years, the Church has paid out 3.3 billion in claims for sexual assaults. That is also a big number, but is dwarfed by the overall number.
This suggests to me that they may be really protesting to protect even bigger losses, that the big money they spend on defenses and public relations responses is really because there is so much more at stake.
It also suggests that they haven't been anywhere near as affected by the scandals as they should be and that the horrible acts have really just resulted in mosquito bites at a giant.
The numbers involved are astronomical. It's time to stop hiding out of fear and greed.
The Church could prove they believe in zero tolerance by coming forward and taking responsibility. Stop the protection and the hiding.
They needed to use the zero tolerance doctrine to shine light on what happened and to ensure that it would never happen again. They need to not move priests around and to quit putting them in situations which allow great access to kids. They needed to stop hiding.
Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.
