Under the Bus

Go here to read the article.  Bishops are not trained to play Dick Tracy.  Whenever a complaint alleging serious misconduct by a priest is made, those making the complaint should be advised to contact the local cops.   The priest should be told that a complaint has been made and that the bishop has ordered an internal investigation at which he may be heard.  He should also be informed that the bishop has advised the complainant to contact the local secular authorities.  This type of procedure is especially important when the alleged offense took place decades before and is purely based on the word of the complainant.  If the secular authorities are contacted and conduct their own investigation, well and good.  However their investigation has nothing to do with the Church investigation which should be conducted according to the procedures set forth by Canon Law.  If the Church investigation clears the priest, that should be sufficient for the Church, absent new evidence surfacing.  Let Caesar do what Caesar does and let the Church do what she does.