Fact of the matter, though, is that there is a distinct possibility that Father X, Pastor X, Brother X, Rabbi X, Imam X, Teacher X, Sister X, Coach X, Troop Leader X, or Uncle Ernie is an abuser of youth. They are all called to their vocations from this society. This society is sick and perverse. While most of them, even the vast majority, will have genuine vocations and are assets to their churches, their schools, and their communities, some are going to end up being snakes.
Sure, you can (and should) do criminal background checks on them. But if the background check comes back negative, it only means that they haven't gotten caught (probably that's they haven't done anything, but that's all assumption). You can do psychological screening, but a psychopath can lie and pass any psych eval or polygraph out there. You could do a detailed background check with interviews, but that would only disclose if the person was careless.
I think the only way to protect our children these days is to adapt the Mike Pence rule to fit the situation. Never let a kid alone with a non-family adult unless there is a completely trusted third party in the room at the same time. If teacher wants to have a private conference with the kid, another adult had to be present. If Father or Pastor wants to counsel the kid, it doesn't happen without another adult in the room (maybe that other adult has to be sworn to secrecy about the content of the counseling, but another adult must be there). Overnight retreats? Lock ins? Only with plenty of chaperones.
As long as society is this way, I don't see any way around that. Will it be perfect? Hardly. But it's the minimum that can be done.
Bottom line: if you think it can't happen in your church, your school, your scout troop, your youth sports team, or whatever...you are deluding yourself.
Dude it’s what people are NOT saying that bothers me.
What about the victims? I don’t care if they are Baptist or Catholic victims who is speaking for them?
When do victims get a voice? When do they get prayed for?
When the “good pastor” falls from grace it’s always “Well lets pray for him” but no one is praying for the victims. That is what makes me angry.
Very well-stated. I thought your recommendations were universally accepted 20 years ago; it is a little shocking that they weren’t.
Bottom line …at the root of most abuse in churches are gay males. Christianity needs a ZERO tolerance policy regarding homosexuals. It’s one thing the Muslims do correctly. Gay males are predators and the majority will offend if given access to children in certain settings.
I do believe that Pope John XXIII’s prohibition against gays in the priesthood would’ve prevented a significant portion of the abuse in the Catholic Church. The reasoning then was that those who had psychological problems with their sexuality could not be expected to endure the emotional rigor of celibacy. Not mere chastity, but celibacy.
Sexual deviants have sought out roles in society where they can access children in private; the Boy Scouts suffered huge scandals at about the time of the first wave of reports about Catholic priests (early 1990s). And even then, people murmurred, “Scouts? Hell, you should see public schools.”
But there has also been a Satanic attack on the Catholic Church, specifically. (See “Wind-Swept House”). Saul Alinksy, dedicated to Satan, was a disciple of Cdl. Bernadin, the one-time “American Pope” whose minions caused so much of the Church’s legal problems. He stands credibly accused of the most horrifying profanations and Satanic rituals. Why? Well, Alinsky used Satanism to keep “weak, nice” people from reading his books; it’s possible Bernadin used it to make the allegations seems so over-the-top that they couldn’t be real. But I also believe that Satanism is a pscyhological desire to cause harm, and that even if the Satanist thinks it’s all hocus-pocus nonsense, it still is a delight in evil causing evil. IOW, Satan.