When all else fails, go back to the classics. The church always gets confused, thinking that this is their heyday and that they can simply get away with anything. Obviously the Archdiocese of Boston is feeling pretty good about itself these days since they are now taking full advantage of the statute of limitations, moral responsibilities be damned. Their response to the second wave of lawsuits is to get tough with those who dare ask for compensation. I used to think that the new Archbishop O'Malley was a step up in Boston compared to the disgraced (yet still well respected in the Vatican) Law but the more I see from O'Malley, he's just more of the same with his gay bashing and aggressiveness towards victims. The victims of church abuse have little to fight with other than the jury of public opinion so I hope they get some support.
On a positive note, the Archdiocese of Portland had been trying to shed their moral responsibilities by claiming bankruptcy despite property worth millions, received a major hit yesterday by the court. They lost their claim that property was owned by the individual parishes and not the archdiocese. This model has been used across the US in efforts to avoid church fire sales to compensate victims of church abuse.
The moral compass in the church needs some serious repair.
