Belgian Priest Doesn’t Think Pedophile Priests Should Necessarily Be Punished
André-Joseph Léonard, the head of the Catholic church in Belgium, granted an interview to RTBF, in which he said (French article, English article) that seeking punishment against old child-abusing priests just vindictiveness:
Priests who abused children in their care, he told RTBF television, “must obviously be conscious of what happened in their lives, but if they’re no longer working, if they have no responsibilities, I’m not sure that exercising a sort of vengeance that will have no concrete result is humane.“
Asked whether it was a good thing to punish abusers, he said “If they’re still active, certainly.“
“But do they (the victims) really want an 85-year-old priest, all of a sudden, pilloried in public?“
Yes, pity the poor priest who fucked some kids up forty years ago and is now just a few years from retirement or death. Once his organization stopped being able to cover up for him, he found himself thrust into the spotlight. Isn’t he the real victim here, and not the people he raped all those years ago?
I wonder if M. Léonard is in favor of a statute of limitations for all child-abusers, or just those in his club.
The archbishop caused an uproar earlier this month when he said AIDS was “a sort of intrinsic justice.“
On second thought, I don’t care what this clueless clown has to say on any topic relating to justice.