It's clear that you can be prosecuted for the things you do.
But can you be prosecuted for something you fail to do as well?
Common law recognizes that, in most instances, mere failure to report a crime isn't a crime in itself. However, there are some notable exceptions.
While in the majority of cases failure to report is not illegal, there are laws which have been enacted punishing individuals who fail to report certain types of crimes to the authorities.
Such laws are found within the penal code governing local or state-wide jurisdictions.
While merely failing to report a crime is one thing, helping to conceal a crime is quite another.
A person can generally be charged with accessory after the fact, or aiding and abetting, if he or she wasn't actually present during the commission of a crime, but took actions to conceal the crime or help the perpetrators avoid capture.
Depending on the severity of the underlying crime, aiding and abetting can be either a misdemeanor or a felony in most jurisdictions.
Which brings me to a consideration of the many state laws which have been enacted in the wake of the hysteria which has attended allegations of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic Clerics. Many states have passes mandatory reporting laws requiring certain types of people to report crimes against children.
These "mandatory reporters" generally include parents, teachers, school administrators, Clergy, medical professionals, therapists, social workers, and others.
In some jurisdictions, any person who believes child abuse is taking place must report it.
Under these statutes, once a mandatory reporter witnesses an act of abuse or finds evidence of child abuse, he or she has a duty to report the incident to the appropriate authorities.
That usually includes sharing important details about the incident, like the names of the victim and perpetrator.
Failure to report an incidence of child abuse is a misdemeanor offense in most jurisdictions.
Which brings me to consideration of the recent guilty sentence leveled upon Archbishop Philip Wilson, the highest-ranking Catholic official to have been found guilty of concealing sexual crimes against children.
The Archbishop of Adelaide, Australia, was sentenced a month after being found guilty of failing to report child sexual abuse. Archbishop Wilson is expected to serve his sentence under home detention.
He was convicted of covering up abuse by a Priest, Father Jim Fletcher, in the state of New South Wales in the 1970s, almost a half-century ago.
Never-mind that there were no penal laws extant in the 1970s requiring the mandatory reporting of the sexual abuse of minors, the Archbishop is guilty now.
Never mind that a law that makes illegal an act that was legal when committed, increases the penalties for an infraction after it has been committed, or changes the rules of evidence to make conviction easier is prohibited in Autstralia and most other Common Law countries, the Archbishop is guilty today.
What explains this terrible injustice which has been visited upon Archbishop Wilson?
Two factors, in my opinion.
First, there is no question that we are witnessing today the same hysteria witnessed in the infamous Salem witch trials which occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil’s magic—and 20 were executed.
Eventually, common sense and common decency returned to the colony which admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted.
Still, the trials stand as stark witness that societies can become so infected by paranoia that a mob-mentality supercedes justice and innocent people are swept up in the hysteria to become victims of horrific injustice themselves.
Second, the Catholic Church, for all of its history, has been a target, the subject of cruel persecution at the hands of those who would silence its voice.
In most cases, attacks perpetrated against the Church were based upon false allegations or accusations of bias, hypocrisy or intolerance.
But now, enemies of the Church have hit upon crimes proven to have been committed by Clerics against minors.
These enemies have used the fact of these crimes to swell their ranks and stirred the fires anti-Catholic discrimination into a frenzied hysteria that has reached the halls of legislatures and politicians eager and willing to enact laws clearly in contradiction to the principles of Common Law in their zeal to destabilize and destroy the Church.
When Archbishop Wilson became aware of Father Fletcher’s abuse, then-Father Wilson was in his first year of Priesthood. He said nothing about what he was told by alleged-victims and, in one case, by a parent.
The very idea that a Priest would abuse a child was so far beyond the scope of belief, then-Father Wilson was most totally perplexed about what he should do.
With no evidence other than the allegation of the child and parent, should he risk ruining the reputation of a brother-Priest? Should he report such an allegation to his Pastor or Bishop?
There were no guidelines, no laws, to provide then-Father Wilson with some direction in which he should proceed.
So, he kept silent.
Now, almost a half-century later, society renders judgment and finds this man, this Archbishop, guilty of a crime against mandatory reporting laws that never existed when then-Father Wilson became aware of these allegations.
This is a terrible miscarriage of justice.
Decent human beings will recognize that the lessons of the Salem witch trials have been forgotten and the same injustices are being visited upon innocent people on account of the same paranoia and hysteria which gripped the early-American colony.
Shame on Australia, its government and people for allowing this travesty of justice to prevail.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
AL GORE PRAISES POPE FRANCIS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Former Vice-President Al Gore said Pope Francis “has been at the forefront in leading the world toward constructive climate action.”
Enough said!
Enough said!
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
IN PENNSYLVANIA: JUSTICE FOR ALL
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which stayed the release of a sweeping secret grand jury investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in Catholic dioceses across the state, said Monday it will withhold the report to give unindicted people named in it a chance to challenge its findings.
In an unsigned opinion that shed light on last week's brief ruling, the justices said “many individuals” named in the grand jury report that examined decades of abuse reports in six dioceses, including Greensburg and Pittsburgh, petitioned the court, saying they were denied due process to defend their reputations.
Noting that reputation is a right under the state constitution and that some petitions have yet to be reviewed, the justices said they will review the temporary stay once those challenges “can be resolved, or an informed and fair determination can be made as to whether a continued stay is warranted.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro initially said he would make the report public this week. Although he did not oppose the delay, he is urging the court to act swiftly.
The justices did not put any time limits on their stay.
The grand jury that met in Pittsburgh for 22 months completed its work at the end of April.
Under grand jury secrecy rules, the names of those challenging its report remain sealed.
Although it has yet to be publicly released, the 800-plus page grand jury report was given to officials in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Erie, Allentown and Scranton in May.
Spokesmen for six dioceses, where officials are believed to be crafting their responses, said Church officials had no objection to its release.
Abuse victims who testified before the investigative panel and attorneys who represented them said they were shocked when the Supreme Court blocked the release of the document.
The high court intervened to block the release of the report last week after Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III, the grand jury supervisor, denied a series of petitions filed by unindicted individuals seeking an opportunity to cross-examine their accusers.
The Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are to be commended for their judicial discretion and for not being caught up in the mob mentality that often associates itself with investigations such as this.
Equal justice for all.
For victims, justice should their allegations be proven in a court of law.
For those accused, the opportunity to defend themselves and their reputations according to the due process of law.
The Justices are attempting to balance those two goods and the State Attorney General should be supportive and encouraging in that effort.
In an unsigned opinion that shed light on last week's brief ruling, the justices said “many individuals” named in the grand jury report that examined decades of abuse reports in six dioceses, including Greensburg and Pittsburgh, petitioned the court, saying they were denied due process to defend their reputations.
Noting that reputation is a right under the state constitution and that some petitions have yet to be reviewed, the justices said they will review the temporary stay once those challenges “can be resolved, or an informed and fair determination can be made as to whether a continued stay is warranted.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro initially said he would make the report public this week. Although he did not oppose the delay, he is urging the court to act swiftly.
The justices did not put any time limits on their stay.
The grand jury that met in Pittsburgh for 22 months completed its work at the end of April.
Under grand jury secrecy rules, the names of those challenging its report remain sealed.
Although it has yet to be publicly released, the 800-plus page grand jury report was given to officials in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Erie, Allentown and Scranton in May.
Spokesmen for six dioceses, where officials are believed to be crafting their responses, said Church officials had no objection to its release.
Abuse victims who testified before the investigative panel and attorneys who represented them said they were shocked when the Supreme Court blocked the release of the document.
The high court intervened to block the release of the report last week after Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III, the grand jury supervisor, denied a series of petitions filed by unindicted individuals seeking an opportunity to cross-examine their accusers.
The Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are to be commended for their judicial discretion and for not being caught up in the mob mentality that often associates itself with investigations such as this.
Equal justice for all.
For victims, justice should their allegations be proven in a court of law.
For those accused, the opportunity to defend themselves and their reputations according to the due process of law.
The Justices are attempting to balance those two goods and the State Attorney General should be supportive and encouraging in that effort.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
On this July 4th many memories of past celebrations of our country's Independence Day come to mind.
Barbecues and outings, family and friends, fireworks, the oohs and aaahs of the crowds gathered to celebrate America, the miracle of Western Civilization.
Through all the conflicts and challenges to our republic, America has weathered the storm because the citizens of this great land, though diverse in heritage and ancestry, found a common identity as Americans all.
That unity is threatened in these days of the hyper-division which has crept into our national culture.
And the divisions make us less free and more vulnerable to the weaknesses that have crippled great societies that existed before us and are now no more.
The Christian Faith has been an indelible part of our nation's history, giving rise to its very existence in the understanding that all men are created equal and endowed with rights that come from the Creator Himself and not from the dispensations of government or the state.
If our Faith in God remains strong and vital, so shall our country be.
So let us take a moment and again ask Almighty God to bless America with worthy citizens and dutiful servants of the public interest.
May our country boast, not in our achievements, but in the abundant blessings the Lord has showered upon us for our fidelity to Him, to the rule of law and justice and to the fraternity of humanity itself.
Happy July 4th to all, a safe and joyful celebration.
God bless our country on this Independence Day celebration and always!
Barbecues and outings, family and friends, fireworks, the oohs and aaahs of the crowds gathered to celebrate America, the miracle of Western Civilization.
Through all the conflicts and challenges to our republic, America has weathered the storm because the citizens of this great land, though diverse in heritage and ancestry, found a common identity as Americans all.
That unity is threatened in these days of the hyper-division which has crept into our national culture.
And the divisions make us less free and more vulnerable to the weaknesses that have crippled great societies that existed before us and are now no more.
The Christian Faith has been an indelible part of our nation's history, giving rise to its very existence in the understanding that all men are created equal and endowed with rights that come from the Creator Himself and not from the dispensations of government or the state.
If our Faith in God remains strong and vital, so shall our country be.
So let us take a moment and again ask Almighty God to bless America with worthy citizens and dutiful servants of the public interest.
May our country boast, not in our achievements, but in the abundant blessings the Lord has showered upon us for our fidelity to Him, to the rule of law and justice and to the fraternity of humanity itself.
Happy July 4th to all, a safe and joyful celebration.
God bless our country on this Independence Day celebration and always!
NEW STUDY: WHY MORE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH NOW THAN EVER BEFORE
A new study of why more Catholics are leaving the Church than ever before -- more so than any other religion in the United States has just been published.
Entitled, “Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics,” the study has been released by Saint Mary’s Press of Minnesota, in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. It attempts to discover why so many young adults are leaving the faith at such an early age, and comes at a time when Pope Francis is directing the attention of the Church on the needs of young people.
The conclusions drawn from the nearly 1,500 young people surveyed in this sample population are neither definitive nor conclusive, but can serve as a useful tool in the lead up to the upcoming Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment called by Pope Francis which will take place this coming October in Rome.
Pope Francis admonished Church leaders: “By listening to young people, the Church will once again hear the Lord speaking in today’s world.”
There is much to be heard and learned in this new qualitative report.
First, the study notes that more Catholics than ever are leaving the Church and more so than any other Christian denomination.
“Of all the major denominations, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes, despite these losses having been largely offset by Hispanic immigration to the United States,” the authors report.
2015 data from the Pew Research Center revealed that the number of Americans who are no longer religiously affiliated increased from 16.1 percent in 2007 to 22.8 or an estimated 19 million Americans. This population is commonly referred to as “the nones,” which now makes up approximately 56 million people in the United States.
The authors of the report estimate that based on their sample size, “approximately 12.8 % of U.S. young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are former Catholics, and that approximately 6.8 % of U.S. teens between the ages of 15 and 17 are former Catholics.”
74 percent of the sample population of this study said they left the faith between the ages of 10 and 20.
According to this new study, “disaffiliation from the Church is largely a thoughtful, conscious, intentional choice made by young people in a secularized society where faith and religious practice are seen as one option among many.”
In attempting to make sense as to why young Catholics leave the faith, researchers categorized their responses into three major groups: the injured, the drifters, and the dissenters.
For the inured young people, experience with either their family or with the Church itself have often led to a conflict of faith leading to their departure from it. Among the range of experiences in this category are divorce, illness, and death.
Drifters, however, are said to leave the Church due to a slow disconnect between what they describe as “meaningless rules and rituals” of the Church versus that of their experience with the “real world.” For many within this population, the example of parents or lack thereof is also critical. “Young people will unconsciously absorb parents’ attitudes,” the authors note.
If the drifters come to exhibit a “so what?” attitude toward the Church, the dissenters are known for their more active resistance to certain teachings of the Church. While opposition to issues - such as gay marriage, contraception, and abortion - is most common, often their disagreement is over more fundamental questions of doctrine, such as salvation, heaven, and hell.
John Vitek, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Press and one of the two principal authors of the report, said that the ultimate purpose of such a study was to present a forum in which young people could offer their stories “in their own words, uncensored and unfiltered.”
According to the authors, the study should prompt pastoral leaders to reflect on two primary questions in consideration of the youth that have left the Church: “Do we know who they are - the depth of their life stories - do we know them by name?” and “Do we miss these individuals now that they are gone?”
Indeed, raising questions for consideration and providing a platform for the voices of young people who have left the faith, this study may be a topic of conversation that will loom large for not only the upcoming Synod, but for the foreseeable future as well.
Entitled, “Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics,” the study has been released by Saint Mary’s Press of Minnesota, in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. It attempts to discover why so many young adults are leaving the faith at such an early age, and comes at a time when Pope Francis is directing the attention of the Church on the needs of young people.
The conclusions drawn from the nearly 1,500 young people surveyed in this sample population are neither definitive nor conclusive, but can serve as a useful tool in the lead up to the upcoming Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment called by Pope Francis which will take place this coming October in Rome.
Pope Francis admonished Church leaders: “By listening to young people, the Church will once again hear the Lord speaking in today’s world.”
There is much to be heard and learned in this new qualitative report.
First, the study notes that more Catholics than ever are leaving the Church and more so than any other Christian denomination.
“Of all the major denominations, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes, despite these losses having been largely offset by Hispanic immigration to the United States,” the authors report.
2015 data from the Pew Research Center revealed that the number of Americans who are no longer religiously affiliated increased from 16.1 percent in 2007 to 22.8 or an estimated 19 million Americans. This population is commonly referred to as “the nones,” which now makes up approximately 56 million people in the United States.
The authors of the report estimate that based on their sample size, “approximately 12.8 % of U.S. young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are former Catholics, and that approximately 6.8 % of U.S. teens between the ages of 15 and 17 are former Catholics.”
74 percent of the sample population of this study said they left the faith between the ages of 10 and 20.
According to this new study, “disaffiliation from the Church is largely a thoughtful, conscious, intentional choice made by young people in a secularized society where faith and religious practice are seen as one option among many.”
In attempting to make sense as to why young Catholics leave the faith, researchers categorized their responses into three major groups: the injured, the drifters, and the dissenters.
For the inured young people, experience with either their family or with the Church itself have often led to a conflict of faith leading to their departure from it. Among the range of experiences in this category are divorce, illness, and death.
Drifters, however, are said to leave the Church due to a slow disconnect between what they describe as “meaningless rules and rituals” of the Church versus that of their experience with the “real world.” For many within this population, the example of parents or lack thereof is also critical. “Young people will unconsciously absorb parents’ attitudes,” the authors note.
If the drifters come to exhibit a “so what?” attitude toward the Church, the dissenters are known for their more active resistance to certain teachings of the Church. While opposition to issues - such as gay marriage, contraception, and abortion - is most common, often their disagreement is over more fundamental questions of doctrine, such as salvation, heaven, and hell.
John Vitek, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Press and one of the two principal authors of the report, said that the ultimate purpose of such a study was to present a forum in which young people could offer their stories “in their own words, uncensored and unfiltered.”
According to the authors, the study should prompt pastoral leaders to reflect on two primary questions in consideration of the youth that have left the Church: “Do we know who they are - the depth of their life stories - do we know them by name?” and “Do we miss these individuals now that they are gone?”
Indeed, raising questions for consideration and providing a platform for the voices of young people who have left the faith, this study may be a topic of conversation that will loom large for not only the upcoming Synod, but for the foreseeable future as well.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
CONSERVATIVES ARE RIGHT ABOUT POPE FRANCIS
It’s no secret. Conservative-minded Catholics haven’t much use for Pope Francis.
Conservative voices have grown even more shrill as they criticize the Holy Father’s methods and approach to Church teaching and practice.
Conservative wisdom holds that Pope Francis is threatening the future of the Church’s traditional, concise and very clear doctrine regarding the Sacraments, the Liturgy, moral theology, even the very structure of the Church underpinned as they see it upon the universally obligatory decisions and decrees of the Bishop of Rome.
Conservative thinkers worry that a Church which governs its faithful locally either by decisions of the diocesan Bishop alone or by consensus within a country’s Episcopal Conference undermines the both the universality of the Faith and the authority of the Successor of Peter.
Conservative leaders and their followers fear that, under the Pontificate of Pope Francis, the Church will undergo unalterable changes and become so entrenched in modernity that the ancient truths themselves will no longer hold the grip on man's will they once had.
Conservatives likewise fear Pope Francis’ wider vision of what the Church itself should and must be.
In his own role as Pope, the Holy Father sees himself as Pastor first and theologian second. His priority is not the purity of tradition but rather the solace of mercy. Thus, the Pope draws a distinction between what the Church teaches and what the Church practices, balancing the simplicity of truth against the purifying power of pardon.
And so, conservatives react and denounce Pope Francis for trying to have it both ways — conceding the formal teachings of the Church while being generous in a compassion and openness to forgiveness that appears to undermine them.
Lord knows I have listened to these voices of concern, of fear, of gloom and doom. I have read the manifestos of the self-appointed defenders of the faith whose agendas are more self-serving and judgmental than the Lord Jesus every could have intended or anticipated.
And I have come to a simple conclusion: these conservative reactionaries are right.
Pope Francis is going to change the Church unalterably.
But not in the way conservatives think.
What Pope Francis has unalterably changed is the tenor and the timbre of the Church’s voice from the clamor of denunciation to the whispers of unfaltering friendship.
Conservatives are right.
From now on, the Catholic faithful will expect the Church to be there WITH them and FOR them, no matter what.
To be with and for ALL of them, no matter who.
The Church will still teach that burdens come with faith, but will be sympathetic when weak and frail human beings fail.
Conservatives understand that the days of harangues from pulpits, condemnations and excommunication from the Body of Christ are over.
Conservatives are right.
But in their resistance to Pope Francis, let these same reactionaries remember the wisdom of Gamaliel, that erudite scholar of the Sanhedrin, who cautioned that, if what the Apostles were teaching was the Will of God, no power on earth could suppress it. If not, that teaching would fail and end in the trash bin of forgotten history.
And so, let us all pray:
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts and minds of your faithful. Kindle in all of all the Fire of Your Love!
Conservative voices have grown even more shrill as they criticize the Holy Father’s methods and approach to Church teaching and practice.
Conservative wisdom holds that Pope Francis is threatening the future of the Church’s traditional, concise and very clear doctrine regarding the Sacraments, the Liturgy, moral theology, even the very structure of the Church underpinned as they see it upon the universally obligatory decisions and decrees of the Bishop of Rome.
Conservative thinkers worry that a Church which governs its faithful locally either by decisions of the diocesan Bishop alone or by consensus within a country’s Episcopal Conference undermines the both the universality of the Faith and the authority of the Successor of Peter.
Conservative leaders and their followers fear that, under the Pontificate of Pope Francis, the Church will undergo unalterable changes and become so entrenched in modernity that the ancient truths themselves will no longer hold the grip on man's will they once had.
Conservatives likewise fear Pope Francis’ wider vision of what the Church itself should and must be.
In his own role as Pope, the Holy Father sees himself as Pastor first and theologian second. His priority is not the purity of tradition but rather the solace of mercy. Thus, the Pope draws a distinction between what the Church teaches and what the Church practices, balancing the simplicity of truth against the purifying power of pardon.
And so, conservatives react and denounce Pope Francis for trying to have it both ways — conceding the formal teachings of the Church while being generous in a compassion and openness to forgiveness that appears to undermine them.
Lord knows I have listened to these voices of concern, of fear, of gloom and doom. I have read the manifestos of the self-appointed defenders of the faith whose agendas are more self-serving and judgmental than the Lord Jesus every could have intended or anticipated.
And I have come to a simple conclusion: these conservative reactionaries are right.
Pope Francis is going to change the Church unalterably.
But not in the way conservatives think.
What Pope Francis has unalterably changed is the tenor and the timbre of the Church’s voice from the clamor of denunciation to the whispers of unfaltering friendship.
Conservatives are right.
From now on, the Catholic faithful will expect the Church to be there WITH them and FOR them, no matter what.
To be with and for ALL of them, no matter who.
The Church will still teach that burdens come with faith, but will be sympathetic when weak and frail human beings fail.
Conservatives understand that the days of harangues from pulpits, condemnations and excommunication from the Body of Christ are over.
Conservatives are right.
But in their resistance to Pope Francis, let these same reactionaries remember the wisdom of Gamaliel, that erudite scholar of the Sanhedrin, who cautioned that, if what the Apostles were teaching was the Will of God, no power on earth could suppress it. If not, that teaching would fail and end in the trash bin of forgotten history.
And so, let us all pray:
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts and minds of your faithful. Kindle in all of all the Fire of Your Love!
VATICAN TRIBUNAL FINDS PRIEST DIPLOMAT GUILTY OF POSSESSION CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
A Vatican tribunal convicted a former Holy See diplomat and sentenced him to five years in prison and a 5,000 Euro fine for possessing and distributing child pornography in the first such trial of its kind inside the Vatican.
Monsignor Carlo Capella admitted to viewing the images during what he called a period of "fragility" and interior crisis sparked by a job transfer to the Vatican embassy in Washington. He apologized to his family and the Holy See, and appealed for leniency by saying the episode was just a "bump in the road" of a priestly vocation he loved and wanted to continue.
Tribunal President Giuseppe Dalla Torre read out the verdict after a two-day trial and imposed the sentence immediately.
Monsignor Capella will serve the sentence in the Vatican barracks, where he has been held since his arrest earlier this year.
Prosecutor Gian Piero Milano had asked for a stiffer sentence due to what he called the "great" amount of material accessed, which included 40 to 55 photos, films and Japanese animation found on his cellphone, an iCloud and Tumblr account, whichMonsignor Capella viewed even after he had been recalled by the Vatican in August of 2017.
Prosecutors and Vatican investigators said the material featured children aged 14-17 engaging in sexual acts.
Capella's attorney disputed that Capella had distributed the material. He denied the amount of porn was excessive, and said his client had cooperated with investigators, repented and was seeking psychological help.
The Vatican recalled Monsignor Capella, among the highest ranking officials in its Washington embassy, after the U.S. State Department notified it in August of a "possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images" by one of its diplomats in Washington.
Soon after, Canadian police issued an arrest warrant for Capella, accusing him of having accessed, possessed and distributed child porn over Christmas 2016 from a church in Windsor, Ontario using a social networking site.
The trial was the first known enforcement of a 2013 law for the Vatican City State that specifically criminalized possession and distribution of child pornography, punishing it with up to five years in prison and a 50,000 euro fine.
Now that the criminal prosecution is over, Monsignor Capella will be subject to a canonical trial, which could result in him being laicized.
It wasn't immediately clear if Canadian authorities would pursue their case against him; the Vatican doesn't extradite its citizens.
The Body of Christ continues to be crucified by these horrid tales of perversion and corruption which so often reach into the highest echelons of Church administration and authority.
Dear Holy Spirit, when will it end?
Monsignor Carlo Capella admitted to viewing the images during what he called a period of "fragility" and interior crisis sparked by a job transfer to the Vatican embassy in Washington. He apologized to his family and the Holy See, and appealed for leniency by saying the episode was just a "bump in the road" of a priestly vocation he loved and wanted to continue.
Tribunal President Giuseppe Dalla Torre read out the verdict after a two-day trial and imposed the sentence immediately.
Monsignor Capella will serve the sentence in the Vatican barracks, where he has been held since his arrest earlier this year.
Prosecutor Gian Piero Milano had asked for a stiffer sentence due to what he called the "great" amount of material accessed, which included 40 to 55 photos, films and Japanese animation found on his cellphone, an iCloud and Tumblr account, whichMonsignor Capella viewed even after he had been recalled by the Vatican in August of 2017.
Prosecutors and Vatican investigators said the material featured children aged 14-17 engaging in sexual acts.
Capella's attorney disputed that Capella had distributed the material. He denied the amount of porn was excessive, and said his client had cooperated with investigators, repented and was seeking psychological help.
The Vatican recalled Monsignor Capella, among the highest ranking officials in its Washington embassy, after the U.S. State Department notified it in August of a "possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images" by one of its diplomats in Washington.
Soon after, Canadian police issued an arrest warrant for Capella, accusing him of having accessed, possessed and distributed child porn over Christmas 2016 from a church in Windsor, Ontario using a social networking site.
The trial was the first known enforcement of a 2013 law for the Vatican City State that specifically criminalized possession and distribution of child pornography, punishing it with up to five years in prison and a 50,000 euro fine.
Now that the criminal prosecution is over, Monsignor Capella will be subject to a canonical trial, which could result in him being laicized.
It wasn't immediately clear if Canadian authorities would pursue their case against him; the Vatican doesn't extradite its citizens.
The Body of Christ continues to be crucified by these horrid tales of perversion and corruption which so often reach into the highest echelons of Church administration and authority.
Dear Holy Spirit, when will it end?
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