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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HennyPenny ago
One of the prerequisites for a RICO charge is Effect on Interstate Commerce – This merely refers to anything that has any effect on commerce when that effect is not entirely limited to one state. Any economic activity of any substance normally meets the criteria.https://www.federalcharges.com/understanding-rico-conspiracy-charges/ Would that apply to a religious organization?
Seems like Trump's Executive Order re: Human Rights Abuse has a few loopholes: "notwithstanding any contract entered into … before the effective date of this order" US has already agreed to treat the Pope as a head of state with immunity against lawsuits. Unless they go after the bishops one by one. If the Catholic Church is held culpable as an institution and it's head is guaranteed immunity in prior contract with the US, I don't see how RICO or the EO would come into play.
"the prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the effective date of this order.https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-persons-involved-serious-human-rights-abuse-corruption/
Factfinder2 ago
There seems to me to be potential wiggle room in some of these areas for imaginative prosecutors and enforcers of the EO. For instance:
I would argue, however, that shuffling priests around to different states DOES have an economic motive, namely, to preserve the perceived wholesomeness of the church and thus not endanger the flow of donations.
With regard to Trump's EO, I think the term "notwithstanding" is not a loophole but actually the prevention of a loophole, meaning that previous contracts will not prevent the execution of the order. https://definitions.uslegal.com/n/notwithstanding/
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Vatican's plea of immunity: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-lawyer-stresses-supreme-court-ruling-was-not-on-merit-of-case
If there are any chances at all, even slim ones, to prosecute or sanction the church, I'm hoping they will be pursued.
HennyPenny ago
Thanks for the "notwithstanding" definition. Hope there's a remedy in law.
The 2010 US Supreme Court support was eroded by Presidential interdict , if I read it right:
In the Oregon case, the Obama administration backed the Vatican and said the appeals court erred in ruling that a victim’s claim of sexual abuse by a priest falls within the exception to foreign sovereign immunity law. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-abuse-usa/supreme-court-rejects-vatican-appeal-in-sex-abuse-case-idUSTRE65R3UB20100628
There's laws and then there's politics.
Factfinder2 ago
Yes, and I do hope this DOJ will follow the law and leave politics out of it. What Obama's DOJ did in the Oregon case was an abomination in my view.
HennyPenny ago
Obamanation is right.