ARCHBISHOP THOUGHT IT WAS LEGAL FOR PRIESTS TO HAVE SEX WITH CHILDREN

Archbishop Says he Thought it was Legal for Priests to Have sex With Children

A St Louis Archbishop who covered up for pedophile priests claimed that he didn’t know it was illegal for adults or priests to have sex with children. Archbishop Robert Carlson made the shocking claims during a deposition as part of a sexual abuse lawsuit in Minnesota involving the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona.

During his testimony, he is asked why he didn’t report the cases of child rape to the police, to which he replies, “I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not”.The lawsuit had been brought by a victim who had been sexually abused by a priest in the 1980s.

Carlson, who was chancellor of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul at the time, was responsible for dealing with such complaints but chose to cover up incidents of pedophilia, rather than report it to the police.According to the Daily Mail, in a testimony filmed and released by the St. Paul law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates, the Catholic archbishop was asked whether he had known it was a crime for an adult to engage in sex with a child.

“I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,” Carlson responded. “I understand today it’s a crime.” When asked when he first realized it was a crime for an adult – including priests – to have sex with a child, Carlson, 69, shook his head. “I don’t remember,” he testified.Yet according to other documents released by attorney Jeff Anderson, who is representing an alleged clergy abuse victim, Carlson showed clear knowledge that sexual abuse was a crime when discussing incidents with church officials during his time in Minnesota.

https://www.jewsnews.co.il/2017/07/15/archbishop-says-he-thought-it-was-legal-for-priests-to-have-sex-with-children.html