2 MINNIE PRIESTS SAY SEX ABUSE CHARGES VIOLATE THEIR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Well, this story is a little different when it comes to what has become standard fare in terms of sex abuse charges and Catholic priests. It doesn’t involve boys, at all! What a relief, in a certain sense. But unfortunately that relief is short lived, because we’re still talking about sex abuse involving priests. And then there’s the little wrinkle of how they, and their lawyers, are taking the legal position that the charges of sex abuse somehow violates their religious freedom! From a totally remote, abstract sense of how arcane it can be to navigate legal niceties, it’s interesting.
DISGUSTING: THE WOMEN THEY ABUSED WERE WOMEN THEY WERE COUNSELING
But then it’s just horrifying, in almost any other way you think about it. These two Minnesota priests were counseling women. And they were sexually abusing a number of the women they were counseling. That’s horrific all on its own. For one, they are priests, which means that there is an inherent level of presumed trust that they will operate personally, professionally and spiritually in good faith. But as priests, and all the more so in the role of personal counselors, they have implied, presumed, and active authority over Catholic women who would seek them out for help. In other words, those women were in their power.
Related:
Priests and Nuns Watch Porn, Pope Francis: Porn is Forbidden
THEIR LEGAL ARGUMENT IS LITERALLY THAT THEIR ROLE OF AUTHORITY MAKES THEM IMMUNE
And this is where their legal argument, and not a defense, transcends horrific into pretty much evil (if not incarnate). The priests, via their legal representation, are specifically saying that banning sexual relationships in their positions of power is what violates their religious freedom. In other words, they’re saying that the laws that apply to literally anyone else don’t apply to them because they’re priests. I sincerely hope that whatever legal intricacies that may be at play don’t give this disgusting reasoning any room for consideration. Sex abuse charges against priests should not include immunity of any kind.
And what about those vows of celibacy, right?
