The sleazy atty. general of Massachusetts has just released his report, on the subject of abuse of children by the Diocese of Boston. Over 1000 children molested, over morethan 60 years, AND NOBODY WILL BE PROSECUTED!
Meanwhile, “Tookey” Amirault sits in jail for (allegedly) molesting 5 children!
The size and range of the abuse (by the church) is simply staggering…and all evidence exists that ex-Cardinal Law KNEW all about, and DID NOTHING to stop it!
Surely, if there is a hell, Tom Reilly desrves it!
I’m disgusted!
{Kingston Trio}
You go to Hell, Tom Reilly,
You go to Hell and die…
{/KT}
-Rav
Does anyone have a link to a fairly neutral analysis indicating whether Reilly is caving in to the politics of going against the Archdiocese in heavily Catholic Massachusetts or whether he is taking the prudent route of not trying to “make laws” where the legislature either did not provide an actual statute or where the statute of limitations has already come into play?
It is quite possible that Reilly is politically motivated (although my reading of the Catholic population in MA indicated that they would have been quite happy to see Law prosecuted). However, it is not going to do the state or the victims any good at all to go to trial, only to have the defense shoot down the charges on the law as it is written. It would be a huge expense to the state with an ending that would have resulted in more suffering and exasperation for the victims.
Boston Globe coverage, including Reilly’s report itself (PDF). The key points are the lack of reporting requirements for clergy until this storm broke, combined with statutes of limitations.
Of course there are political factors involved. The archdiocese is one of the major political players in Massachusetts, perhaps far more so than in most other places, partly due to its property and money and partly due to the affiliations of the bulk of Boston politicians. But a charge still has to be able to stick, as well as be serious when eminent persons are involved, before a sensible prosecutor will file them. As his report points out, this was an institutional problem involving a number of persons for many years - nailing Law alone, or with just a few others, might be seen as scapegoating.
But I’m still surprised and a bit disappointed that the publicity alone is all the accountability they’ll ever face.