Posted on 04/20/2011 11:01:34 AM PDT by bronxville
The Associated Press reported recently that three insurance companies receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by Protestant clergy, challenging the assumption that clergy sexual abuse is an exclusively Catholic problem that does not take place in other churches.
That is a higher number than the annual average of 228 "credible accusations" brought against Catholic clerics in records reported by the Catholic Church in response to media scrutiny, a priest observed in a Fox News commentary questioning why the story isn't garnering more attention.
While the report about abuse in Protestant churches doesn't absolve guilty Catholic priests or those who enabled them, said Father Jonathan Morris, it offers a more complete picture. "The problem of sexual abuse has no denominational boundaries," he wrote.
The AP obtained figures on sex-abuse claims from three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America--Church Mutual Insurance Company, GuideOne Insurance and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company.
The largest company, Church Mutual, reported an average of about 100 sex-abuse cases a year involving minors over the last decade. GuideOne, with about half the clients of Church Mutual, said it has received an average of 160 reports of sex abuse against minors every year for the past two decades. Brotherhood Mutual said it received an average of 73 reports of child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct every year for the last 15 years but did not specify how many victims are younger than 18.
That compares to at least 10,667 people who reported plausible claims of childhood sexual abuse by 4,392 priests or deacons between 1950 and 2002 in a study commissioned by the Catholic Church with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York as part of its response to its clergy abuse scandal. That represents 4 percent of the approximately 110,000 diocesan and religious priests who served in the United States in those years.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers an extensive annual report monitoring sexual-abuse claims. There were 635 new allegations reported in 2006, 9 percent fewer than in 2005. A total of 14 allegations (2 percent) involved children under the age of 18 in 2006. The remaining 621 allegations were by adults alleging abuse as minors in previous years.
Protestant numbers are harder to come by, the AP reported, because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic Church. Many churches are independent, making reporting even harder.
"This bad news for Protestant Churches is sad news for all of us," Father Morris wrote. "I would prefer the problem be limited to any one church--even if that church were my own--because it would mean more kids would be safe. But as I have said repeatedly over the last few years, the problem of sexual abuse of minors is not an issue of religious affiliation because there is nothing religious about abusing children. The phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors in church settings is the story of sick human beings taking advantage of their position of moral authority to prey on the weak and vulnerable. If Catholic clergy were to be faithful to their church's teaching, there would be no abuse in the Catholic Church. The same goes for Protestant clergy. The problem, then, is not one of corrupt doctrine, but of individuals being unfaithful to the most basic precepts of their own religious belief."
Insurance officials told the AP the numbers of sex-abuse cases has remained steady over the past two decades, but churches are doing more to prevent child-sexual abuse by conducting background checks, installing windows in nurseries and play areas and requiring at least two adults in a room with a child.
Still, said Patrick Moreland of Church Mutual, churches are particularly vulnerable to abusers.
"By their nature, congregations are the most trusting of organizations, so that makes them attractive targets for predators," he said. "If you're a predator, where do you go? You go to a congregation that will welcome you."
America's largest Protestant group, the Southern Baptist Convention, voted last month to refer a motion to study the feasibility of establishing a database of Southern Baptist clergy and church staff who are credibly accused of, have confessed to or were convicted of sexual abuse or harassment to the SBC Executive Committee.
This year's convention also adopted a non-binding resolution expressing "moral outrage" against the victimization of children.
And TSA airport screeners?
And there are certain posters here who are aiding and abetting the Marxists. Click the link in post #2.
As I said before, it doesn’t matter who is doing it, it is pure evil and should be treated as such.
And they own the religion forum.
Depends on how you talk about these numbers ~ obviously Catholics are a minority religion in America. At the same time there's no particular majority religion, and Protestants move around all the time making it somewhat difficult to count.
I think what we need to know is if these insurance claims are made against any particular denomination, e.g. Episcopalean, Universalists, Unitarians, or other likely target (with money in the bank).
Perhaps you could click the link in post #2 and let them know. Thanks.
Non-Catholic organizations may be worse, but that does not excuse the molester-enabling actions of gay-friendly bishops and JP2. It will be a travesty if JP2 goes beyond the beatification stage to receive full sainthood.
Facts are stubborn things.
Not sure what you mean. I saw that thread and it was a horrible situation the way it looked.
It looks like it went on way too long and there was a complete lack of oversight.
Again some people need a bullet.
I am not a Catholic hater, here comes the but, this sounds too much like, “Johnny did it TOO”.
Look, throw all these perverts in prison whether Protestant Catholic or Muslim. The Catholic Church can’t absolve themselves by smearing others. The Catholic Church has a LONG history of abuse by priests and WORSE, of covering it up and just moving priests to new locations so they could abuse new unsuspecting kids. Kicking the pervert down the road, so to speak.
This dog won’t hunt. Father Morris should have steered clear of this discussion. He will make no friends saying that Protestants do it too.
“I only beat my wife 2 times a week and they beat their wives 5 times a week. See, I’m not so bad after all”.
Shine the light on all of them, I say. Don’t try to make yourselves look better by saying “but everybody does it”.
It appears that way buccaneer but one gets tired of seeing two posts here during Lental season about Catholics and pedophilia within 24hrs. (and in reality it’s really about homosexual-pedophilia which the state-controlled media will never print.)
Police seize videotape alleged to show sex with child
Keri Kirby / The Times
Posted on July 17, 2003
The Ringgold pastor arrested Tuesday for allegedly exposing himself to children in a Bossier City park over the past several months now also stands accused of having sex with a girl to whom he is related and recording the acts on videotape.
http://www.reformation.com/CSA/thomas4.htm
Sex Offender and Sex Crime News
Convicted sex offender removed as pastor of Newark church
2003-05-07 Newsday
NEWARK, N.J. — A convicted sex offender who was named pastor of a city church several weeks ago has been removed from the post.
Shiloh Baptist Church leaders had hired the Rev. Chavalis T. Williams in mid-March, even though they knew he had pleaded guilty in Florida to charges of child abuse and using children in a sexual performance.
Williams, who still lives in Florida, was not immediately available for comment. He was sentenced to six months in jail and 30 months probation after he admitted in 1999 that he had arranged for two teenagers to have sex in front of him and others while he worked at a facility for troubled youths in Jacksonville.
At the time of his arrest, Williams was on probation after pleading guilty to a wife beating charge.
http://www.reformation.com/CSA/williams2.htm
Minister again charged with molestation
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
By Chris Hack
Staff writer
For the second time in two weeks, a Baptist pastor from New Lenox has been charged with molesting a child — and prosecutors said they are looking for more victims.
Dennis Larry Shaw, 53, of the 2100 block of Sanford Drive, New Lenox, was charged Monday with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl, according to the Will County state’s attorney’s office.
On Jan. 31, Shaw was arrested on similar charges after a parishioner’s 12-year-old daughter alleged she was fondled by the pastor inside the church between October and December, prosecutors said.
http://www.reformation.com/CSA/Shaw1.htm
Lots more here -
http://www.reformation.com/CSA/baptistsabuse.html
...and here
http://www.cin.org/users/msmith/reformation/baptistsabuse.html
Catholic Clergy Singled Out Says Historian -
...”The Catholics have gotten all the attention from the media, but this problem is even greater with the Protestant churches simply because of their far larger numbers,” he says....
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0405/p01s01-ussc.html
Georgia Pastor charged with sexually abusing 5 year old boy has long criminal record, including child molestation and child battery...
Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 12:40PM
http://www.perrybulwer.com/religion-and-child-abuse-news/2010/1/9/georgia-pastor-charged-with-sexually-abusing-5-year-old-boy.html
Former youth pastor arrested again
Updated: Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 6:09 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 4:45 PM EDT
Katie Collett
YORK COUNTY, Va. - Sergeant Dennis Ivey of the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office tells WAVY.com Jack Duffer was arrested for the second time in two weeks. Ivey says Duffer was arrested Friday after a second teenager in two weeks came forward saying the former youth pastor had sexual contact with her in two different areas of York County.
Ivey says Duffer faces 34 sex-related charges in connection with Friday’s arrest and two charges from his prior arrest. While detectives work to find out if there are anymore alleged victims, the Seaford Baptist Church community prays for strength.
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/local_wavy_yorkcounty_youth_pastor_jailed_again_20090824
Lots within the link -
http://www.reformation.com/CSA/startPage.html
More -
http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?s=6013245
This one popped up - a long thread - no time to read it...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1850676/posts
“This little light of mine (by a Protestant Pastor)...
I’m gonna let it shine”
This “little light” shines for the many clergy abuse victims whose voices have been silenced. Silenced by shame. Silenced by the false instruction of religious leaders. Silenced by church shunning and bullying. Silenced by church contracts for secrecy. Silenced by suicide. The mission of StopBaptistPredators.org is to break the silence of Baptist clergy sex abuse.
Lots more within the link -
http://stopbaptistpredators.org/index.htm
It appears to be a continuing theme, in that, it’s very difficult to trace Protestant Pastor Child Molestors...lots more out there.
“What about child abuse at the hands of “teachers?”
Let’s see THOSE numbers!
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Unconvincing Claims as to Why It Cannot Effectively Report or Prevent Clergy Child Abuse – and How Insurance Companies Can Exert Pressure to Ensure Better Systems
By MARCI HAMILTON
Thursday, Jun. 12, 2008
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has recently proven why it is that children are at risk for sexual abuse in our society: It’s easier not to protect them, and especially easy to issue ineffectual platitudes while looking the other way.
According to the Associated Press, the SBC has concluded that its decentralized structure of independent churches makes it impossible for it to establish a website of pastors credibly accused of child sexual abuse, or even to require the reporting of such crimes to the police. Yes, you read that right: The SBC is citing these lame procedural reasons for not taking the most basic steps to protect children from devastating abuse that can have repercussions that leave victims suffering for a lifetime (and that severely taxes society in medical and other resources).
In this column, I’ll rebut the Convention’s claims that policing and reporting abuse is an impossible task to put on its shoulders, and also describe how change in this quarter needs to come from what may seem like an unlikely source: the insurance industry.
[...]
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20080612.html
This Protestant Pastor disagrees with you. He also believes Child Molestations by Pastors are being covered up.
They need to do a report on public schools, seems more widespread than any church
I read where a representative from the Education Department stated they expected the numbers to go as high as 10% this year. The state-controlled media will never cover it. Will look for the link later as I’m doing other things besides responding here at the moment.
You miss the point!!! Has nothing to do with “johnny did it too”.The point I was making is that there are many on this site that make it a point to bash Catholics. I don’t see them posting on this thread. You never see those bashers posted on a thread like this.
I’m not excusing any perverted actions, no matter who does it! Got it?
Obviously, the protestants aren’t as good at hiding their sins as are the catholics.
Yes, someone has the numbers which by all accounts are extremely high.
And for you "critics," no one is saying it's okay that some priests abused children because Protestants do it, too. All we're saying is the media coverage of abuse by Catholic priests is grossly disproportionate and displays their bias.
You meant that the other way around, right? If not you haven’t read from the links provided nor the more recent where a Protestant Pastor states categorically that there are a lot more but are being covered up.
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