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Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal writing about the sex abuse scandal in the Church:
"There are three great groups of victims in this story. The first and most obvious, the children who were abused, who trusted, were preyed upon and bear the burden through life. The second group is the good priests and good nuns, the great leaders of the church in the day to day, who save the poor, teach the immigrant, and, literally, save lives. They have been stigmatized when they deserve to be lionized. And the third group is the Catholics in the pews—the heroic Catholics of America and now Europe, the hardy souls who in spite of what has been done to their church are still there, still making parish life possible, who hold high the flag, their faith unshaken. No one thanks those Catholics, sees their heroism, respects their patience and fidelity. The world thinks they're stupid. They are not stupid, and with their prayers they keep the world going, and the old church too."
I seldom reprint entire articles from other websites but in this case I'm making an exception. Father Dwight Longenecker at Standing On My Head wrote this article and I'm sure it won't be seen in the mainstream press. It's important that the current sex abuse scandal in the Church is put in context. Not to excuse it but to see it as it really is.
The Myth of Pedophile Priests
As more pedophile priest scandals blow up across Europe we should be ashamed of the offenders and those who sheltered them and oppressed the victims. The guilty should be weeded out, removed from office and handed over to the civil authorities where they are guilty of crimes. Systems to avoid abuse must be established and rigorously maintained, and victims should be justly compensated for their suffering.
However, Penn State professor Philip Jenkins (who is not a Catholic) has written the most objective book on the subject, and he summarizes his arguments in this excellent article. In light of his work, we should remember some basic facts and principles:
Priestly celibacy is not the issue - married men are more likely to abuse children than unmarried
Most child abuse takes place within the home.
All religious groups have pedophile scandals, and the Catholics (while the largest religious group) are at the bottom of the list statistically.
Child abuse is prevalent in all areas of society: schools, youth organizations, sports, etc
.
Statistically, of all the professions, Christian clergy are least likely to offend. Doctors, Farmers and Teachers are the professions most likely to abuse children--not clergy.
Among clergy offenders Catholic priests are least likely to offend.
Catholic cases of pedophilia make more headlines because of anti Catholic prejudice and because the Catholic Church is bigger and more lucractive to sue.
Pedophilia and Euphebophilia are different problems. The former is sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. The latter is attraction to teenagers. Most cases branded 'pedophila' are actually 'euphebophila.'
Most of the cases of euphebophilia are homosexual in nature, however the politically correct do not want this problem to be associated with homosexuality.
The number of Catholic priests guilty of pedophilia is very small.
What we now call 'cover up' was often done in a different cultural context, when the problem was not fully understood and when all establishment organizations hushed scandals. They did so for what seemed good reasons at the time: protection of the victims and their families, opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender, the avoidance of scandal to others. It is unfair to judge events thirty years ago by today's standards.
When lawsuits are looming people smell money. We must be wary of false accusations.
The accused must be entitled to a fair hearing. The church should insist on hard proof of the abuse, and for the sake of justice, ensure that the innocent are not prosecuted.
When guilt is established the offender must be punished, not sheltered.
Distinctions must be made between types of abuse. Some offenses are worse than others. Verbal abuse or corporal punishment during a time when that was acceptable, while lamentable, is not the same as sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse.
Sexual abuse of an adult, or a sexually experienced older teenager is wrong, and damaging, and should be punished, but it is not the same as the sexual abuse of a younger, innocent child.
Number of offenses must be considered. One lapse is not of the same seriousness as repeated, persistent and premeditated offenses.
I am in no way wishing to be soft of pedophiles and those who covered for them, however justice and truth demand an objective analysis of the facts.
Nothing below is meant to exonerate the Catholic Church or heap praise upon the Pope. It's meant to show that sexual abuse, contrary to the reporting in most media, is not limited to the Church. I also posted the article about the Pope to show that the Church is no longer in denial. Is it doing enough? I don't know and personally, I'd like to see more.
However, child abuse committed by anyone is terrible. This obsession with the Church is all well and good, but the press needs to cover this abuse wherever it occurs. If they don't a whole bunch of kids are going to continue to suffer; and part of the blame will rest squarely on the shoulders of the inquisitors in the media.
"The Boy Scouts of America call them "perversion files," internal documents used to track Scout leaders suspected of sexually abusing young boys.
A judge who had ordered the Scouts to release them received 1,247 files into evidence near the end of the day Friday — the third day of trial that began with a lawyer saying "you will be the first jury to see them."
Fox News
"Welcome to a collection of news reports on ministers who have sexually abused children:
ALL Protestant denominations - 838 Ministers"
Reformation.com
"Given the new tone Benedict had set, it was little surprise that in 2006, the Congregation for Bishops announced that a lightly modified version of the American norms for sexual abuse, including the "one-strike" policy, had been permanently approved. They were subsequently issued as "particular law" in the United States, making them binding on all American dioceses and eparchies (jurisdictions of the Eastern rite churches.)
Benedict's transformation into an apostle of "zero tolerance" has also been clear in press discussion in both Ireland and Germany. News reports indicate that the Vatican has supported local bishops in adopting tough policies along the lines of the American norms. That amounts to a remarkable reversal of fortune, given the ambivalence displayed in Rome not so long ago to the very same policies the papacy is now extolling as a global model.
Nowhere was Benedict's new tone on the sex abuse crisis clearer than during his April 2008 trip to the United States."
National Catholic Reporter
This story is for the very few of you that still believe our Constitution has any meaning at all. Expect to see this sort of action more often in the future. Without any warrant an American citizen can be arrested and shipped off to a medical facility. How does this differ from the Soviet Union and their re-education programs?
Oh, and all of you that insist on the registration of firearms; what will you do when they show up at your door because you bought a book that wasn't approved? The database of your favorite bookstore could be searched for those that have incorrect thinking. Or what about if you are a known eater of salt in New York? What if you smoked a cigarette in a place not authorized by the government?
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin
"To hear them tell it, the five police agencies who apprehended 39-year-old Oregonian David Pyles early on the morning of March 8 thwarted another lone wolf mass murderer. The police "were able to successfully take a potentially volatile male subject into protective custody for a mental evaluation," announced a press release put out by the Medford, Oregon, police department. The subject had recently been placed on administrative leave from his job, was "very disgruntled," and had recently purchased several firearms. "Local Law Enforcement agencies were extremely concerned that the subject was planning retaliation against his employers," the release said. Fortunately, Pyles "voluntarily" turned himself over to police custody, and the legally purchased firearms "were seized for safekeeping."
This voluntary exchange involved two SWAT teams, police officers from Medford and nearby Roseburg, sheriff's deputies from Jackson and Douglas counties, and the Oregon State Police. Oregon State Police Sgt. Jeff Proulx explained to South Oregon's Mail Tribune why the operation was such a success: "Instead of being reactive, we took a proactive approach."
There's just one problem: David Pyles hadn't committed any crime, nor was he suspected of having committed one. The police never obtained a warrant for either search or arrest. They never consulted with a judge or mental health professional before sending out the military-style tactical teams to take Pyle in."
Reason.com
"As hundreds of new allegations of sexual abuse surface in the German church alone, a top Vatican official acknowledged Tuesday that, with only 10 people handling such cases, his office might not be adequate for the task.
But the official, Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, who is effectively the Vatican’s internal prosecutor, said the church was working to bring more “transparency” to the delicate and emotional process of settling allegations of abuse by priests that have severely damaged the church’s moral standing.
“We have to get our act together and start working for more transparency in investigations and more adequate responses for the problem,” Monsignor Scicluna said, adding that this should happen “on every level of the church.”
NY Times
I don't say this to be flippant but, if the Vatican has only ten people in place to handle this, sell some paintings and hire more. Ten People??!! After what has happened here in America there should be an army of people in place to push these cases through with as much speed as possible.
If what is said by the Monsignor is true then I have to conclude that the resolution of the homosexual child sex abuse scandal is not a high priority and never has been. This speaks volumes about the true nature of the cover up. Yes, cover up. If there was really an intent to get this out, deal with the damage done and separate fact from fiction there would be hundreds of people involved in this. Instead, we have ten.
The Vatican hoped that this would go away and refused to confront the problem directly. Their staffing of the office tasked with handling this proves my point.
Confess your sins and do penance, Vatican. To the Pope; if you want to clear your name and that of the Church the only way to do it is to show the world you mean business. Put the funding in place to handle this problem. Get to the truth. Do whatever it takes to help the people that were damaged by the members of our Church, even if you have to sell everything to get it done. Great sin has been committed by those that were chosen to preach the Gospel. Great penance will be required.
Ten people working in an office somewhere in Rome just doesn't cut it.
"The Roman Catholic Church is “holed beneath the waterline” and may take generations to recover from the sex abuse scandals, according to the first English bishop to speak out on the crisis.
The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, the Right Rev Kieran Conry, rejected accusations of media bias against the Catholic Church and said the problems of paedophile priests dominating headlines in the UK and across Europe were problems of the Church’s own making.
“The Roman Catholic Church sets itself up to be the great moral authority. When it does fail its own rigid standards, it deserves to be attacked and criticised,” he said."
Times Online
Straight (no pun intended) talk from Bishop Conry. Now if the rest of the Church leadership will just be as honest and forthright we can deal with the problem and move on. My guess is though that just as here in America the powers that be will do their best to obfuscate and spin the problem away. It won't work.
"Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much." James 5:16
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity." 1 John 1:9
It really is that simple, isn't it? Confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and undo the damage.
"Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
Isn't this the good news? Isn't this what you have been teaching us? Ask forgiveness and through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross you shall receive it. Then why can't the Church seem to follow it's own teaching? Why are we bombarded here in America with lawyers and hidden abusers in our parishes? Why, if a priest has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty of this terrible crime, why can't the Church just admit it, ask forgiveness and do its penance? Even if this means destruction of the physical institution. Don't they trust the promises of Christ?
"And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
Why does the Church leadership have so little faith in the God of creation?
"Now if God clothe in this manner the grass that is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more you, O ye of little faith?" Luke 12:28
Is it because the leaders of the Catholic Church have become too much of the world? Are they more concerned about their place at the table than the souls of their flock?
"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:13
I don't know the answer; that's for God to understand. What I do know is that something is terribly wrong with the Church. From sexual abuse to the abuse of our rights in the health care debacle, the ability to speak the truth has become almost a forgotten skill.
But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil. Matthew 5:37
It really is that simple, isn't it?
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