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Were you 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 abuse victims. Stand up against your abuser and help prevent this from happening to someone else. Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Maine Sex Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case. This is a free consultation. There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation at the end of the case. Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing. Church Sex Abuse Lawyer Maine
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For decades, sexual abuse throughout the Catholic church has continued to be . When accusations first started making the news in the 1970s, there was some worry that these weren’t isolated occurrences, but very few would have guessed just how profound the problem and the cover up went. We are learning more about the extent of these crimes every day. One thing is for sure, a surprisingly low percentage of individuals involved in the scandal have received time in jail. Possibly the most crucial question we can ask is why more priests weren't prosecuted for their criminal acts. What is the public policy behind let these criminals escape justice?
An important part of the dilemma is that the church isn't only insular, but it is self-regulated. Often times, reports of sexual abuse were made instantly to bishops as well as other leaders. At that time, these folks were trusted with doing something to guard their congregations, but there was clearly a systemic letdown to take action. Rather than going to the police, individuals relied on the church leaders, who were more concerned with safeguarding the image of the church. So law enforcement was basically kept in the dark the whole time.
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When church leaders did decide that accused priests could no longer function in the community, they merely relocated them to another spot, instead of reported to the police. This fixed the immediate problem, nonetheless they were also knowingly launching a predator into a brand new community. This would have grave consequences. Most of these coverups only served to extend the period of abuse and further deteriorate the integrity of the church.
Once the scandal did eventually break and victims did start to come forward to seek justice, they were often up against legal obstacles like statutes of limitations. These are the laws in the individual states that govern how long you have to bring a case.
In the end, you don't see any clear figures about just how many priests have been sent to jail for sexual abuse, and that is a shame. In 2014, the Holy See, which is the governing body of the Vatican stated that they had received 3,400 reports of sexual abuse in the last ten years. These accused priests were defrocked and given lesser penalties, and only a small handful of them were actually prosecuted. In reaction, lawmakers in certain countries are making it mandatory for priests to document abuse or they are going to face prison time. It’s about time, you hear thousands of victims yell.
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Over the decades, the Catholic church has paid out huge amounts of money to victims, however money hardly means justice or helps prevent these predators from continuing to target vulnerable kids. If nothing else, hopefully this kind of controversy has made the church realize that outside evaluation of the system is critical and also made the police and the public at large more conscious of potential issues.
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