Priest and laws...why no prison?

Question

I am of the Catholic faith and at times I ashame for what happened for the victims. The Catholic church paid large settlements, and believe they are to this day! The thing that really bugs me is WHY the lack of jail times for these pedophiles with clokes on? They are no better then the average pervert who is locked everyday! Do you feel this way too?

Answer 1

I agree. The thing is, my friend's boyfriend left the church after what he saw happen. Not a victim himself, he felt pain for the children for what they endured and embarrassment and shame regarding everything considered. That said, I believe that someone who commits a crime must also be subject to the same laws regarding said crime. For example, if you're in prison for one crime, someone else who is being for the same (exact) crime cannot receive a harsher sentence than you receive. I was also shocked. When our local sheriff was convicted of embezzlement which is both a crime and a tort case, he only received a term of supervised house arrest and State felony probation. If I remember correctly, there had only been one other case similar. The judge would also have to take into consideration what would have happened to our wonderful sheriff who had taken all the remotely comforting points out of the local jail such as sodas and the ability to buy certain foods during his terms, should he have been sentenced to prison, put into population and of course subsequently killed. But I believe the priests abused their power just as much (actually more) than the sheriff in question. The sheriff's actions didn't scar CHILDREN for life and cause irreparable harm. To quote Dr. Phil, I think pedophiles need to be thrown UNDER the jail. Than the jail subsequently burned to (below) the ground, and the victims be allowed to dance upon the ashes. I have no doubt these priests abused and used their faith and their positions to manipulate the situation in their favor.

Answer 2

Some have been criminally convicted and sent to prison.

Others were accused and the church chose to settle rather than to fight it in court and drag it out. Some cases they settled just because it made better sense to - get the story out of the papers.

Please keep in mind, not all accusations were true. There were some that were falsely made by opportunist wanting a pay day or suffering from a mental disorder. These just did not get as much press.