HessForGovernor Government Corruption Position Paper - Legal Equals

Legal Equals?…Do I Hear an, ‘Amen’?

The recent scandal involving, Bishop O’Look-the-other-way has me reeling, as it should anyone who understands the concepts of individual ‘freedom’ and legal equality. I’m not referring to the ‘crimes’ that were committed against children—those speak for themselves, but rather the way in which it is being handled by our public servants who’s duties include treating every single individual the same.

Before I go any further, I should state up front that I am partially the product of a Jesuit boarding school where I was the second non-Catholic ever admitted, as well as a proud graduate of a Jesuit University. And while I will confess to being a Bible-believing Christian, I do not believe the State has any business or authority to make distinctions based on religious or spiritual conviction. My thoughts have nothing to do with Church doctrine or spiritual beliefs, only with how the State ‘protects’ individual rights--its ‘prime directive’.

I find myself out-raged at the obvious intimidation our prosecutor in this case must have felt which led to the offer of a ‘plea bargain’ to escape culpability for putting children in harm’s way, directly or indirectly. I know the starched white collar that many of us were brought up to respect can be pretty daunting. After all, they are the emissaries of “the head honcho, the Alpha and the Omega”, and you just wouldn’t want to risk eternal damnation by messing with them. That’s understandable, and even more so if you happen to share their faith. That’s why the clergy of all faiths have always held an elevated place in society. I was taught these pious souls were inherently trustworthy by virtue of their vocation, and I could easily overlook the omnipresent liquid spirits. They are, after all sworn to celibacy and every human being has to be less than perfect lest they compete with our creator.

When an individual who is de facto in a position of trust, be it religious, political or otherwise, abdicates his or her responsibility to maintain good reason for the trust placed in them, they must be held accountable. Here, in effect, the good Bishop O’Look-the-the-other-way, was charged with the responsibility to ‘certify’ or vouch for the good character of his employees. His name was on their actions and their deeds. So for him to knowingly put individuals with at least an alleged history of child molestation in the company, care or proximity of children is nothing short of outrageous. And then there’s the even more egregious act of covering up or denying what took place. That’s what traumatizes the victims and keeps otherwise worthless psycho-babblers in business. But let’s not go there.

Ask yourself this: If the Bishop were the CEO of a private company who covered up for pedophiles in his charge, would he have gotten the same ‘stay out of jail’ card? Even if his justification were to protect the good name (and monetary assets) of the company? …Not very damn likely!

That being said, let’s get to it.

Here we have a situation where there are numerous allegations against multiple individuals involving the molestation of children (The consensual sex stuff with adults is quite different and even legally excusable). But we have the ‘employer’, if you will, over all of these offensive individuals, who repeatedly made the decision to ignore the potential harm to new victims, (No doubt there will be more revelations to come, mark my prophetic words), which led to new victims in fact.

The bottom line is this; there can be neither absolution, nor any mitigating circumstance when it comes to child molestation. A civil and just society cannot content itself with picking up the pieces of shattered lives after the fact. We cannot maintain any tolerance for these (even frocked) predators, or those who give them safe harbor.

While the man they call the Pope may even perpetuate or attempt to shield this Bishop’s actions, and those of his subordinates, God will not. God’s funny like that, He doesn’t care about protecting the financial assets of the Church, or even its reputation, He cares about protecting His children, from His other children. And I have it on good authority that though our county attorney might aid and abet the Bishop, God will not. It’s not surprising, in the karmic sense, that even now the good Bishop faces even more problems because he looked the other way and kept on driving when yet another innocent fell victim to his acts.

It’s fairly straightforward. The Citizens who employ this deal-cutting prosecutor, are now bound by any sense of morality and decency to demand he retract the ill-conceived deal and treat the Bishop like anyone else. To do any less makes the prosecutor an accessory to the accessory, and his Citizen employers, accomplices-after-the-fact.