If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not alone. We are here to help you. Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Georgia Sexual Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case. Help is available nationwide. There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation. Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing. Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Georgia
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Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Georgia
At the diocesan level, the response to the sexual abuse cases was left to the discretion of the bishop or archbishop of the diocese. Priests who were accused of sexual abuse were shifted from parish to parish or forced to enter psychiatric treatment. Priests who continued to offend or those whose abuse entered litigation or threatened to be made public were forced to retire or resign, and, in some cases, they were laicized. Laicization is the removal of the right to perform clerical duties.
Georgia Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
Some bishops who covered up for offending priests were also forced to retire or resign. As a result of the sexual abuse cases, it was the responsibility of the diocese to settle the claims of the victims of abuse. Some dioceses declared bankruptcy as a result of the financial burden of the settlements.
Until the Boston Globe’s exposure of the scandal of sexual abuse in the Boston archdiocese, the episcopal conference level had little involvement in responding to sexual abuse claims. As the scandal grew and allegations increased, United States bishops felt the need to take coordinated action.
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for greater punishment for priests who committed sexual abuse. In June of 2002, they approved the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and pledged to create a safe space for all children in church activities.
Georgia Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
They developed universal procedures for handling allegations of sexual abuse against priests and other church employees. Reforms were put in place to require background checks for all church employees, and dioceses were required to report allegations to law enforcement. They also commissioned a study into the abuse problem.
Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer Georgia
The Vatican response has been criticized for being very slow. There was no initial response to the Boston Globe story in 2002, but the Vatican monitored the response of the United States bishops. In 2003, a secret document was uncovered that gave instructions on how to cover up cases of sexual abuse. That same year, Pope John Paul II decreed that those who harmed the young had no place in the priesthood. The Vatican began requiring background checks for church employees and issued rules against allowing ordination for homosexuals. Pope Francis instituted the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014 to concentrate the church’s efforts to deal with the sexual abuse scandal.
Georgia Priest Sexual Abuse Lawyer
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