When Pedophilia Becomes A Sacrament

For years, the diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut has fought to keep hidden all records pertaining to sex abuse by its priests.

Once they reached settlement agreements with the victims, the diocese had everything sealed up, to never see the light of day or the eyes of the faithful who faithfully drop their pennies in the plate. The last thing they wanted was to make the whole thing public.

Unfortunately, legal proceedings in the States are subject to other than Canon law. Several newspapers, including the New York Times, sued to obtain access.

But we only turned the records over because the Connecticut court said we had to, went the Church's argument. The judge promised us that they'd go no further than that.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that it won't listen to the clerics. The Justices, in their wisdom (and there's four Catholics on the bench) don't believe that the state of Connecticut was messing about in official Church business by pursuing the priestly pedophiles. They don't see how the law of man interfered with the law of God in regard to letting the Church run its operation.

Say Mass however you like, Father, but there's no sacrament of pedophilia that the legal system is disrupting by prosecuting the perverts.

The last, best hope of the Bridgeport diocese is that the Supreme Court would agree that the Church's First Amendment rights are being violated by the release of the secret documents.

Actually, it's the children who were violated. Sexually abusing children has nothing to do with internal affairs.

Render to God and forgive the priests if they make a full and sincere confession. Render unto Caesar and throw them to the mercy of the court system, to be prosecuted for their crimes.