Cardinal Authorized Paying Abusers

Oh, this is rich. And sickening.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, one of the most virulent anti-LGBT douchebagging, goosestepping members of the Catholic Church hierarchy, once authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to child raping priests as an "incentive" for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee.

Um, yeah, that sounds like a payoff, doesn't it?

And, naturally, when "Cardinal" Dolan was questioned at the time regarding a particularly notorious pedophile cleric who had been been given a “payoff” to leave the priesthood, Dolan, then the archbishop, called the inference “false, preposterous and unjust.”

But now we know it was true.

A document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee--because of lawsuits against them regarding pedophile priests--revealed that the archdiocese did indeed make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll.

Pay 'em off, let 'em run, and the Catholic Church looks innocent. Except they aren't Innocent at all.

Jerry Topczewski, spokesman for the archdiocese, confirmed that payoffs were made to “a handful” of accused priests as a "motivation” not to contest being defrocked. And the church even has a name for paying off rapists; they call it “laicization;” a formal church juridical procedure that requires Vatican approval--which means the Pope knew about it--and can take far longer if the priest objects.

“It was a way to provide an incentive to go the voluntary route and make it happen quickly, and ultimately cost less,” Topczewski said. “Their cooperation made the process a lot more expeditious.”

It's all about money.

Oddly enough, "Cardinal" Dolan, president of the national bishops’ conference and fast becoming the nation’s most high-profile Roman Catholic cleric, does not have a comment. Perhaps he ran to the bank for another payoff.

The newly revealed documents are the minutes of a meeting of the Catholic Church finance council of the Milwaukee archdiocese from2003, which Cardinal Dolan attended. The minutes noted that “unassignable priests”--those suspected of abuse--were still receiving full salaries, and also states that it a proposal to “offer $20,000 for laicization ($10,000 at the start and $10,000 at the completion the process)” was discussed. Instead of salary, the pedophiles would receive a $1,250 monthly pension benefit, and, until they found another job, health insurance.

Pension and health insurance. It pays to be a child rapist in the Catholic Church.

The first known payment under Dolan's watch was to Franklyn Becker, a former priest who abused at least ten children. He received a payoff to leave the church and practice his pedophilia elsewhere. When asked, at that time, about the payment, Cardinal Dolan called it “an act of charity,” so that Becker could pay for health insurance.

No act of charity though for the multiple boys and girls sexually abused by Becker, I guess.

And, when you learn that the Catholic Church has paid more than $16 million to settle lawsuits involving Becker and one other priest, it all makes sense.

Pay the pedophiles about twenty grand and send them on their way, and then you don't have to worry about a $16 million payoff.

It is all about economics, I guess.

via NYT