Vatican’s Double Standard on Child Abuse

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Critics are noting Rome's apparent double standard in addressing child abuse in the wake of last week's Vatican-sponsored, three-day conference on child pornography, while seemingly protecting a priest who's wanted for allegedly trafficking in child porn.

At issue is the Vatican's use of diplomatic immunity to shield from civil prosecution a priest, Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella, who's wanted by Canadian officials for his alleged involvement in child porn. Capella, a Vatican diplomat formerly stationed in D.C., was abruptly removed from his post when charges surfaced alleging he downloaded child pornography.

Canadian officials accused Capella of downloading child porn from a parish computer over Christmas last December. After U.S. authorities brought up similar charges in August, Capella was immediately recalled to Rome. The Vatican refuses to come forward with any information on the case and refuses to extradite Capella for civil prosecution. The Vatican is investigating the case and may try Capella in ecclesiastical court.

Statistics provided by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops as recently as 2016 and 2017 have consistently shown that the clerical sex abuse crisis is owing to a homosexual clergy. In spite of this well-established fact, the Vatican does little to remove such men from the priesthood or even speak out on the issue.

The Vatican last year even issued new guidelines for seminarians that relaxed rules on men with so-called "transitory" homosexual tendencies in formation for the priesthood. While continuing to exclude from the seminary men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies," the new guidelines now allow in seminaries men with the "transitory problem" of "homosexual tendencies."

Priests like Fr. James Martin, who seek to normalize homosexuality, continue to be supported by bishops and are not censored by the Vatican for their heretical views on homosexuality.

Watch the panel discuss the homosexual roots of the clerical sex abuse crisis in The Download—Vatican Double Standard.

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