precrime

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 18 Jun 2002, Lynne Murphy wrote:

#Barry noted the word 'precrime' the other day.  It seems to have taken hold
#in the new US Catholic Bishops' policy on sexual abuse:
#
#(from the AP:)
#The new charter reads, "Diocesan policy will provide that for even a single
#act of sexual abuse of a minor -- past, present or future -- the offending
#priest or deacon will be permanently removed from ministry."
#
#How future acts are determined is not stated, but perhaps they have some
#divine assistance.

Ah. The concept, not the word.

And even the concept is present only if one insists on an unlikely
reading. As I read this, they mean "A single act of sexual abuse of a
minor by a priest or deacon -- whether long ago [past: maybe beyond the
statute of limitations], recent [present: still subject to action by the
law], or *subsequent to the adoption of this policy* [future] -- will
result in ..."

-- Mark A. Mandel