When a normal Joe sues a global corporation, he expects the corporation to play hardball in and out of court. Their lawyers will try every legal trick available to stall, force a settlement, or break your spirit. Why do people who sue the Catholic church expect them to act any different than a global corporation? The Catholic church is a global corporation. If you sue them for clergy sexual abuse and ask for millions of dollars, they will fight with every ounce of effort possible to see you fail. The lawyer's job is to limit the damage to the corporation. They will not play nice because of the nature of the crime or because they represent a church.
I've seen articles about victims of sexual abuse trying to kill themselves over their treatment at the hands of the Catholic Church. Expecting anything other than hardball tactics is infantile. The leadership would rather the victim settle out of court, forgive the sin altogether, or if necessary push you toward jumping off a bridge. They don't care. If they did the abuse would stop and victims would be taken care of by a loving church. Do you see that happening? I don't. Once you sue the church, you are no longer one of them. Their attitude is screw you, unto death if necessary.
The primary legal weapon of the global corporation is the countersuit. The Catholic church uses this tactic to destroy the support structure of the person suing. They will go after anyone even remotely involved in the case. Your mother and father, siblings, grandparents, are all targets. They want to spread the blame. Sure, you may have been abused, but was it not also true that your father beat you and your mother was inattentive?
…the diocese countersued Caruso's mother and father. They claimed the parents were negligent in failing to get counselling and medical help for their teenaged son and that Caruso's father regularly beat him…
Stop whining folks. The Catholic church is not your friend. They rape your children, shelter the abuser, and try to destroy your family if you attempt to defend yourself. Wise up. Where is the love Jesus is supposed to represent? They don't even know how to say the word. And God, the priests really only use his name during sex.
