Don, I think that to be effective, punishment for crime must be immediate. If fifteen years have passed, I don't think punishment does a whole lot of good; and I think we reach a point in time where society is better off easing off on its quest to "bring criminals to justice" - yes, even to some extent for murder. In general, I think that felonious crime should be punished. However, I think we reach a point where punishment doesn't do much good and wastes a lot of the resources of society. Fifteen years after the commission of a crime, the whole world has changed. Current priorities need to be considered along with the need for "justice" for past offenses.

As far as I can see, the child molestation crimes peaked during the 1980s, both in Europe and in the United States. I think it's quite clear that all crimes of molestation should be punished, within reasonable limits. As for the coverups, I think it's a different story because responsibility for the offense is not so clear-cut. The coverups are for a large part a function of the organization, and the organization has changed radically in the last 20 years. The Catholic Church is no longer the powerful entity it once was. The number of priests has been greatly reduced, churches in Ireland and Europe are often empty, and the leadership of the Catholic Church in Ireland has changed almost completely. So, whom do you prosecute for the coverup crimes committed so long ago?

-Joe-