https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/church-investigations-explode
Church Investigations Explode
The dam is breaking
"The dam holding back the silence is breaking, as state investigations into the cover-up by bishops of homosexual priest predation is beginning to expand.
Six states have now launched official investigations demanding that secret archives in each diocese be opened and the records examined. The dam of secrecy will completely break when the Department of Justice (DOJ) launches a federal grand jury investigation into the nearly 200 dioceses in the entire United States.
As more states begin their independent investigations, patterns and correlations involving clerical sex abuse will begin to emerge. This is because troubled priests were often moved from diocese to diocese, sullying more than one bishop, who covered for them. Individual states may urge the federal government to launch a national investigation simply because this would readily provide all the pieces to the puzzle of which priest came from where and what did each bishop know.
When these dioceses are located in other states, then the institutional cover-up of human rights violations will have crossed state lines triggering what's known as a RICO investigation. These are federal laws involving systemic corruption by a single institution occurring in more than one state.
When state after state begins to investigate sexual abuse, which is also categorized as human rights violations, it will fall under an executive order signed Dec. 21 of last year by President Donald Trump titled Executive Order Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption.
Like RICO, it's prosecuted by the DOJ. This order pertains to any institution located "in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States" that is found to be involved in "serious human rights abuse." The Catholic Church fits this description as does cover-up of widespread sexual abuse. This order gives the federal government the ability to confiscate from the institution "all property and interests in property that are in the United States."
Between RICO violations and the violation of Trump's executive order the Catholic Church would have far more to lose than the roughly $4 billion it has already paid out to sex abuse victims and lawyers."
Trump's Executive Order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-persons-involved-serious-human-rights-abuse-corruption/
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KnightsofHubris ago
RICO does not apply
This will not trigger any RICO cases because the underlying crimes are not RICO predicate crimes.
The Executive Order doesn't apply part I
The part about the executive order makes no sense at all if you understand what that EO is about.
The executive order is tied to the Global Magnitsky ACT. People on Voat keep claiming otherwise when I point this out, but the executive order is about implementing the Global Magnitsky Act, a law passed before Trump became President. If you need proof of this, go to this Treasury Department page and click on the FAQ link. It's a PDF so I won't post the link here. https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/glomag.aspx
the first FAQ says the EO implements the GMA.
Child Molestation is not a crime covered by the Global Magnitsky Act. There's a very specific legal definition of "gross human rights abuses in US Law."
The Executive Order doesn't apply part II
This part shows a further misunderstanding of the Executive Order.
This first sentence is wildly off the mark. There are no prosecutions. There are sanctions. And the Treasury Department is in charge of them, not DOJ. There are no prosecutions, because the Global Magnitsky Act only applies to those beyond US law.
The Global Magnitsky act only applies to "foreign people." The law makes this clear in the first sentence of the section on sanctions.
This mean NO US priest, NO US bishop, NO US cardinal is subject to the Global Magnitsky Act or the executive order. US person need not be a US citizen. This is defined right in the law
If you want to understand that executive order, read the law it's connected to https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/284/text
Does all this mean that priests can't be prosecuted?
No.
They can just use different laws to do it. For example you can be convicted of the crime of conspiracy without it being a RICO case.
HennyPenny ago
@knightsofhubris thanks for the clarification. This is what I come to Voat for: intelligent debate without rancor or negative downvoats for opposing views that often shed additional light
Factfinder2 ago
It's obvious that the OP article is not discussing the crimes of individual priests so not clear why you chose to go debunking in that direction.
KnightsofHubris ago
I have no idea where you are going with your comment.
Neither RICO nor the Executive Order related to the Global Magnitsky Act apply in this case. That is simply the truth.
Other crimes that go beyond individuals....such as the crime of conspiracy...may apply.
Pizzalawyer ago
I agree that when exploring criminal remedies one needs to separate individual actions from institutional crimes as there may be different remedies. Add into the mix tbe application of a remedy to address a conspiracy of 2 or more individuals that do not implicate the institution. Conversely, there can be one or two individuals controlling an institution that might trigger overlappjng remedies. Im thinking about the Clinton Foundation.. I say "throw the book " at them. The possible application of one or more remedies is exactly where that expression comes from.
Im too lazy to sort out the conflicting issues of this post; ill leave that to the OP.and commentator. Your point is valid.
Pizzalawyer ago
@knightsofhubris: Thanks for the legal education. The law can be so complicated. The OP was quoting directly from the publication Catholic Militant which apparently needs your technical guidance.
DeathToMasonsASAP ago
They control the courts system and our entire government. Stop speculating about them being arrested. International bankers, British Crown and Vatican are the controllers. Our government works for them. The controllers collect and keep our taxes, not our government. IRS is theirs.
mrfetus ago
Black pill.