Remember that I worked as an investigator for the U.S. Government for 25 years, doing security clearance investigations. I could do a pretty good job investigating incidents that happened up to five years ago, but I hated the ones that went back 15 years. It's well-nigh impossible to do an honest job investigating something that took place 15 years ago. People change, and their memories and perceptions change.

If a person committed a crime 15 years ago and didn't get caught, I suppose that's his good luck. If he hasn't committed any other crimes in the last 15 years, then I don't see a lot of harm done by his getting away. Most likely, he HAS committed more recent crimes, and he'll get the punishment he deserves getting caught on something more recent.

But it always pains me a bit when I see a long-forgotten fugitive get caught and sent to jail, after living a decent life for a number of years. It pains me to see a prisoner executed after 25 years on death row, no matter how horrible his crime was. If punishment is not immediate, people move on and change. If they've changed for the good, then that punishment becomes an injustice.

As for the Pope's speech, I think the Guardian's summary didn't quite do him justice. His entire speech can be found here. The Guardian makes it appear he's shifting the blame for the child molestation, but he doesn't do that at all.

-Joe-