Pope blames the church's sins for sex scandal

[Cunt]

At no time between then and now has any pontiff revoked the secret policy document of 1962, known as Crimen Sollitcitationis, which in cases of paedophila within the catholic church compels perpetrator and victim alike, as well as anybody involved in investigating those cases, to perpetual silence on pain of excommunication.

I dispute this interpretation of Crimen Sollicitationis. The Catholic Church cannot excommunicate people for reporting a crime to the authorities, or for confessing a crime to the authorities. It has to be a serious breach on theological grounds for excommunication to be used. The Vatican is already guilty enough in this affair, let's not make shit up when they look bad enough simply by telling the truth.

Either I am misunderstanding what you are trying to say, or you have not read Crimen Sollicitationis. It states quite clearly (paragraph 11 and elsewhwere in the document) that cases of paedophilia are to be kept secret in perpetuity, and that failure to do so will result in excommunication ipso jure (meaning canonical, that is to say, church law) which is cited further on.

• what is treated in these cases has to have a greater degree of
  care and observance so that those same matters be pursued in a most secretive way, and, after
  they have been defined and given over to execution, they are to be restrained by a perpetual
  silence (Instruction of the Holy Office, February 20, 1867, n. 14), each and everyone pertaining
  to the tribunal in any way or admitted to knowledge of the matters because of their office, is to
  observe the strictest ++7++ secret, which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office, in
  all matters and with all persons, under the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae, ipso
  facto and without any declaration [of such a penalty] having been incurred and reserved to the
  sole person of the Supreme Pontiff, even to the exclusion of the Sacred Penitentiary, are bound to
  observe [this secrecy] inviolably. Indeed by this law the Ordinaries are bound ipso jure or by the
  force of their own proper duty.

The basic ground on which this is said to be a theological matter is the Sanctity of the Confessional. It would seem that the catholic church has an extremely broad definition of the sacrum poenitentiae. Though not explicitly stated, but nevertheless inferred in paragraph one, any interaction with a priest under any circumstances takes place within the confines of "The holy Confessional".

I may be a bit rusty in my interpretation of the law, but does it not follow that one could perform certain...private acts on priests and those acts would be properly hidden behind the Sanctity of the Confessional?

Could one simply say 'bless me father for I have sinned' and require silence on the part of the priest for the rest of the days proceedings?

I think it would be helpful for any reporters among the group to ask publicly of the church whether these practices are still in force. Not that there needs to be more to embarrass them.