- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Introduction to a Complex Problem
- Chapter 2 Understanding the Patterns of Clergy Abuse Litigation
- Chapter 3 Civil Litigation against Catholic Dioceses, Parishes, and Priests
- Chapter 4 Participants in the Clergy Abuse Case
- Chapter 5 Delays and Limitations in Clergy Abuse Cases
- Chapter 6 Effects of Criminal Charges and Plea Agreements
- Chapter 7 Church Insurance and Abuse Claims
- Chapter 8 Constitutional Issues
- Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Issues
- Chapter 10 Mandated Abuse Reporting Issues
- Chapter 11 Evidence Privileges and Clergy Abuse Issues
- Chapter 12 Repressed Memory Inducement Cases
- Chapter 13 Fraud and Nondisclosure in the Assignment of Clergy
- Chapter 14 Defenses and Claims of Immunity
- Chapter 15 Damages Issues
- Chapter 16 Fiscal Impacts of Abuse Cases on the U.S. Catholic Church
- Chapter 17 Impact of Abuse Cases on External Relations of the Catholic Church
- Chapter 18 Responses Vary Inside and Outside the United States
- Chapter 19 The Church’s Internal Big Picture—Governance and Law
- Chapter 20 How Episcopal Culture Contributed to Administrative Failure
- Chapter 21 The Development of the Problem
- Chapter 22 The Perfect Storm in Canon Law
- Chapter 23 2002 and Beyond
- Chapter 24 The Particular Issues of Religious Communities
- Chapter 25 The Investigation and Pretrial Canonical Process
- Chapter 26 The Accuser and the Canonical Process
- Chapter 27 Canonical Penal Trials and Outcomes
- Chapter 28 Limitations and Weaknesses in the Canonical Penal System
- Chapter 29 Clergy Abuse Issues in Non-Roman Catholic Denominations
- Chronology of Some Aspects of the Sexual Abuse Issue in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church
- Bibliography
- Index
Limitations and Weaknesses in the Canonical Penal System
Limitations and Weaknesses in the Canonical Penal System
- Chapter:
- (p.381) Chapter 28 Limitations and Weaknesses in the Canonical Penal System
- Source:
- The Clergy Sex Abuse Crisis and the Legal Responses
- Author(s):
James T. O’Reilly
Margaret S. P. Chalmers
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Inside the Church it is difficult to predict when and how a case against a priest will be resolved, but the bishop is a key player, taking into account that bishops are not accountable to no one other than the pope. Here, U.S. law does not apply and expectations must change to fit the very arcane requirements of the clerical trial process. The chapter discusses the juxtaposition of U.S. law and canon law, and the problems in the system that may stem from faulty assumptions, including those that timeliness is beneficial, that the accusing witness will cooperate and act in good faith. It also discusses the potential that a definitive outcome will not be had, and the uncomfortable situation raised by a dismissal under those circumstances.
Keywords: procurator, clerical state dismissal, Vatican review, canon law, accountability of bishop
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Introduction to a Complex Problem
- Chapter 2 Understanding the Patterns of Clergy Abuse Litigation
- Chapter 3 Civil Litigation against Catholic Dioceses, Parishes, and Priests
- Chapter 4 Participants in the Clergy Abuse Case
- Chapter 5 Delays and Limitations in Clergy Abuse Cases
- Chapter 6 Effects of Criminal Charges and Plea Agreements
- Chapter 7 Church Insurance and Abuse Claims
- Chapter 8 Constitutional Issues
- Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Issues
- Chapter 10 Mandated Abuse Reporting Issues
- Chapter 11 Evidence Privileges and Clergy Abuse Issues
- Chapter 12 Repressed Memory Inducement Cases
- Chapter 13 Fraud and Nondisclosure in the Assignment of Clergy
- Chapter 14 Defenses and Claims of Immunity
- Chapter 15 Damages Issues
- Chapter 16 Fiscal Impacts of Abuse Cases on the U.S. Catholic Church
- Chapter 17 Impact of Abuse Cases on External Relations of the Catholic Church
- Chapter 18 Responses Vary Inside and Outside the United States
- Chapter 19 The Church’s Internal Big Picture—Governance and Law
- Chapter 20 How Episcopal Culture Contributed to Administrative Failure
- Chapter 21 The Development of the Problem
- Chapter 22 The Perfect Storm in Canon Law
- Chapter 23 2002 and Beyond
- Chapter 24 The Particular Issues of Religious Communities
- Chapter 25 The Investigation and Pretrial Canonical Process
- Chapter 26 The Accuser and the Canonical Process
- Chapter 27 Canonical Penal Trials and Outcomes
- Chapter 28 Limitations and Weaknesses in the Canonical Penal System
- Chapter 29 Clergy Abuse Issues in Non-Roman Catholic Denominations
- Chronology of Some Aspects of the Sexual Abuse Issue in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church
- Bibliography
- Index