Yesterday’s ruling by the NCAA handing out heavy penalties on Penn State makes one thing clear, they won’t tolerate child abuse. What would the Vatican act like if it took child abuse as seriously as did the NCAA? I can think of three ideas right off the bat.
1. No one would be exempt. Bishops and Popes who covered up the abuse would be removed from office. Anyone who played any role in the coverup would lose their ordination as well as their jobs.
2. The Church would put it’s money where its mouth is. If a University can come up with 60 million dollars for one year, the Vatican can come up with much more than that to treat its victims.
3. Just as Penn State co-operated fully with an outside investigation, so should the Vatican should bring in objective outsiders to decide what is fair compensation. The idea that any of us is above the law is pre-modern. If a person has been mistreated, their abuser should not also be their judge and jury.
(Thanks to Vald Svekis for asking the question in the first place.)