Gee, why is it then that we the Irish public at large were blissfully unaware of clerical sexual abuse* for decades, until such time as people and agencies outside of the Church brought the matter out into the open? It eventually assumed a Groundhog Day character: Another day, yet another story of clerical abuse that had been hidden for years, usually decades. The levels of misconduct were such that there should by rights have been a steady stream of forced defrockings way back when, to say nothing of arrests, trials, sentences, imprisonment, compensation settlements. etc. But of course it didn't happen then. It only happened much, much later.apophenia wrote:While I in no sense want to defend this doctrine or the churh's conduct, I will point out that, from my quick read, it appears that while the investigation of offenses was indeed sworn to secrecy, if the findings were positive, the penalties were of a public character.Seraph wrote: As for clergy higher up in the hierarchy, an instruction titled "Crimen sollicitationis" was sent to all Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops and other Local Ordinaries, including those of Eastern Rite in 1962. It basically forbade anyone from reporting sexual abuse to civil authorities on pain of excommunication and consequent eternal fire and brimstone, the gnashing of teeth, et cetera.
*Physical abuse was also endemic, and not nearly quite as much a secret, although the extent of it was. But the power of the Church in Ireland was such that public criticism was almost unknown.
The very fact that it was considered worthy of mention at all should give you pause for thought.apophenia wrote: I think some sense can be made of the desire for secrecy as embodying specific legal principles which many practices of jurisprudence outside the church do not embrace. At least in the U.S., accusations and the accused bear no right to shield of privacy, instead relying on the principles of due process and presumptive innocence to yield an equitable result. However, there's always more than one way to skin a cat. This way however appears to be built on fail.
The sad fact that whatever theory might support the doctrine, obviously the practice had effects the church fathers were either complicitous with, or did not anticipate. But I urge any and all here to examine the doctrine in a more complete examination than is possible in this thread, probably starting with the Wikipedia entry on Crimen sollicitationis. It's a sadly pathetic fact comparing the Catholic church's attitude towards the use of the procedures available to civil authorities in the instance of the Inquisitions, where civil authorities were gleefully embraced to do their dirty work, horrifically killing those in the out-group; yet when it comes to their own, they close ranks and shield them from even the faintest whiff of scandal. (Though as Wikipedia notes, events prior to a tribunal investigation were not themselves covered by secrecy; what practical effect that exception has or had, I don't know. The absurdity of requiring the accusation be brought within a month of the transgression is beyond contempt -- I have no idea how the weasels explain the reason for that.)
One other minor point about the Crimen sollicitationis before I move on. The doctrine also explicitly applies to acts of bestiality. I myself wasn't aware that bestiality among the catholic clergy was a pressing issue.
As for the desire for secrecy, stop over-theorizing. The Church was secretive because of the consequences of washing its dirty linen in public - or allowing others to wash it. And the fact that it was arrogant beyond belief about its place in society. It considered Canon Law to be somehow above the law of the land. But as an Irish Minister for Justice famously observed a few years ago, Canon Law "... is merely a set of internal rules with the same relevance as a golf club's regulations."
I suggest you take some time to read some of the many reports issued to date on clerical abuse. The Irish reports alone make for very sobering reading.
Ex-sailor, klr, ex-sailor. I will try to talk him out of crossing the Atlantic to stomp you. 
