BULL.
Becky
There are lots of bulls in Texas, and, unfortunately, at least 800% more sexual abuse of children by teachers there than by priests in the entire U.S. After reading the article below this becomes an inescapable conclusion. Over six hundred teachers convicted or punished for sexual abuse of a minor in one state, in just eight years, as compared to less than 400 priests in the entire nation, over a thirty year period.
Like I said, the Church's sex abuse problems are microscopic compared to the rest of society, but the media seems to be engaged in a rather vigorous and widescale campaign to saturate us with the Church's problems while ignoring the very same problem that exists on a much grander scale in our public schools.
So I ask yet again, what is the media fascination with the comparatively small sex abuse problems in the Catholic Church, and why do they ignore the much larger national problem in secular society?
05/04/2003
By Diane Jennings and Robert Tharp /
(excerpted from): The Dallas Morning News
"Ms. Vincent is one of at least 600 Texas educators disciplined in the last eight years for sexual misconduct, mostly involving children, according to state records analyzed by The Dallas Morning News. And state regulators warn that the count likely understates the problem because of districts' failure to report incidents".
"The teachers' misdeeds translate into hundreds of kids abused by the very people entrusted with their care each day. And long after, the damage lingers."
"Sometimes I still can't believe that it really happened. I can't believe that I let it, but there was nothing I could do," one teenager said in a victim's statement, referring to sexual abuse by her volleyball coach. "Nobody should have to go through what I have. I am now trying to rebuild my life, but this is so difficult. No matter how hard I try, I cannot erase the memories, the pain, heartache, the abuse. It will haunt me for along [sic] time to come."
"State and local officials' efforts to keep abusive teachers out of Texas public schools appear spotty at best. Cases at the state level can take years to resolve, and discipline, when meted out, often appears inconsistent, according to The News' study of records from the State Board of Educator Certification, the agency overseeing teacher discipline."
"Some registered sex offenders have not lost their licenses but have received lengthy suspensions, allowing them to apply for reinstatement and return to the classroom."
"A grand jury declined to indict Ms. Vincent. But the married mother lost her teaching license after admitting the relationship. Other teachers who did the same thing have been suspended for a few years. Even after a teacher loses her license, as Ms. Vincent did, she can move on to a nonteaching position. And a license once revoked may be later reinstated."
"There's a serious breakdown in our system," said Kelt Cooper, an Arizona school superintendent who worked in several Texas school districts and who has testified as an expert witness in educator abuse cases. "It's time people take a position on this thing [and] acknowledge how deep this goes."
"Recognizing that a problem exists is difficult. Kids don't want to admit they've been victimized; parents feel guilty that they sent their child to a molester each day; and school officials, haunted by the prospect of sexually abused children or falsely accused teachers, just want it to go away."
"At first, the abuser's interest in a student may appear benign."
"I looked up to her as role model and friend. As time passed, we began to talk more," said the student who was abused by her volleyball coach. "The closer that I became to her, the more I seemed to push my other friends away."
The relationship became increasingly intimate. The coach kissed her. "I didn't know what to think. I was grossed out and confused," the victim said in her statement. Then came "making out," and later, while they were watching a movie at home, the coach caressed her "private area."
"I did not know what to do or say," the girl said. Later, "she told me she was trying to make me orgasm, which I had never heard of in my whole life."