But why not?
Pope under fire for transfer, letter on sex abuseBackground:
By NICOLE WINFIELD (AP)
13 March 2010
... The pope, meanwhile, continues to be under fire for a 2001 Vatican letter he sent to all bishops advising them that all cases of sexual abuse of minors must be forwarded to his then-office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and that the cases were to be subject to pontifical secret.
Germany's justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, has cited the document as evidence that the Vatican created a "wall of silence" around abuse cases that prevented prosecution. Irish bishops have said the document had been "widely misunderstood" by the bishops themselves to mean they shouldn't go to police. And lawyers for abuse victims in the United States have cited the document in arguing that the Catholic Church tried to obstruct justice.
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) ActAmong the 35 crimes included are extortion, bribery, dealing in obscene matter, and obstruction of justice.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (commonly referred to as RICO Act or RICO) is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
...
Under RICO, a person who is a member of an enterprise that has committed any two of 35 crimes—27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes—within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering.
...
[Wikipedia, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act]
Given that investigations into the Churh's sexual abuse have revealed that victims were paid off to keep quiet (bribery) and were implicitly threatened with damnation if they spoke up (extortion); that the nature of the offenses (child sexual abuse) constitutes obscenity, and that the Church has been deliberately, consciously instrumental in obstructing civil justice in these cases, I'd say there's a pretty strong RICO case to made.
Are any U.S. Attorney's willing to give it a shot?
Full disclosure: The Church counts me as one of her own - I was baptised in 1952.
I concur, and have kept my eyes and ears open for RICO suits. Jeff Anderson (a St. Paul MN attorney) has been part of a bunch of RICO suits filed in more than one state. Can't find any current information on those lawsuits' status though. FYI, here's Anderson's web site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.andersonadvocates.com
How can we organize to put pressure on the various states' Attorneys General?
You're definitely not the first to suggest this - it's been suggested for a decade or so.
ReplyDeletehttp://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20030619.html
In fact, there was an attempted racketerring prosecution of Catholic bishops in Cleveland a few years ago. I believe they were acquitted... or the prosecution was prevented from going forward on some grounds.