Posted on 11/15/2023 8:11:03 PM PST by Morgana
In the realm of sexual crimes, a stark contrast exists in the level of media attention and public awareness when the perpetrators wear different hats, specifically, the robes of the Catholic Church versus the more secular attire of public school teachers or individuals from diverse spiritual beliefs.
When allegations of sexual misconduct arise within the Catholic Church, the media responds with a resounding uproar that reverberates globally. Cases involving Catholic priests make headlines, sparking international outrage, and prompting discussions about accountability and reform.
Furthermore, authors exploring themes of scandal and controversy within the Catholic Church frequently experience an unexpected surge in international fame. Books that point fingers at the Church, delving into alleged misconduct or institutional shortcomings, often become sensationalized and receive extensive media coverage.
The allure of such narratives, coupled with the controversial nature of the subject matter, seems to propel these authors into the spotlight, contributing to their sudden rise to prominence.
However, this fervor seems conspicuously absent when similar crimes are committed by public school teachers or individuals from non-Catholic spiritual communities.
A recent survey conducted by the "JW Child Abuse Damage Archive," exposing 159 reported cases of sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses community in Japan, serves as a typical example.
"It's disheartening to note that, on a near-weekly basis, new instances of such abuse emerge"
Out of the 159 valid responses received, 35 respondents disclosed that they experienced sexual abuse during their formative years, from middle school to high school, detailing various forms of misconduct. Additionally, 19 respondents pinpointed the perpetrators as individuals holding positions of authority within the Jehovah's Witnesses structure.
Despite the gravity of the allegations and the significant number of victims, media coverage remains quite passive compared to instances involving Catholic priests. The silence surrounding these cases is concerning, raising questions about the factors that contribute to this conspicuous disparity.
During my decade-long stay in Japan, I've encountered numerous individuals who have confided in me about their distressing experiences of either abuse or harassment by their middle or high school teachers. It's disheartening to note that, on a near-weekly basis, new instances of such abuse emerge, yet they rarely make it to the forefront of prime-time media or receive international coverage.
Sure, the Church's global reach and historical significance amplify the impact of scandals involving its clergy, making them inherently more newsworthy. However, this skewed emphasis downplays cases in other religious communities and institutions, promoting an incomplete narrative around the pervasive issue of sexual abuse.
Frequently, when crimes within the Church are spotlighted in the media, the primary emphasis tends to be on holding the authorities accountable for covering up these offenses, often without facing any consequences even when exposed.
Paradoxically, a similar pattern unfolds in cases involving public school teachers. Instances where educators are found guilty of misconduct are frequently shielded by school boards eager to safeguard their institutions' reputations. In the rare event that a teacher is held accountable, the consequence often involves a mere relocation to a different city or institution, allowing them to continue their crimes unchecked.
How curious it is that allegations against the Unification Church for supposedly engaging in mind control to extract financial contributions can receive an unmatched level of attention when compared to crimes as awful as the sexual abuse of minors.
The contrast in public awareness between accusations of financial manipulation and the severe harm inflicted through the sexual abuse of minors is indeed striking. While the former might involve questionable practices or ethical concerns, the latter represents a violation of the most fundamental human rights and the well-being of vulnerable individuals.
This divergence in attention prompts reflection on the factors that dictate the public's perception of crimes and the media's role in shaping narratives.
Understanding the dynamics behind this contradictory prioritization is essential for developing a more balanced public awareness. It would help concerned families in distinguishing what constitutes genuine threats from cherry-picked narratives driven by biased, often political motives.
Unfortunately, media bias does not explain the appalling misconduct of Catholic clergy.
Maybe if the priests didn’t engage in such behavior, there wouldn’t be anything to report.
The only ones making Catholics priests look bad are the Catholic priests themselves. It’s not the fault of those reporting it that the priests sinned like that. Nobody held a gun to their heads to force them to abuse children.
And if the these accounts were lies, yes, then you could accuse the media of spreading lies to make the Roman religion look bad. But when it’s true, the media are not the ones making the RCC look bad. The RCC itself is doing just fine all on its own of doing that.
This reminds me of people who commit crimes and then blame those who expose them of making them look bad for revealing it instead of recognizing just who it was that engaged in the wrong behavior in the first place.
It’s interesting that the media highlights predator priests, but worships predator teachers, drag queens, trans fad activists, groomer school boards etc.
They’re all bad regardless where they are, yet the one “grouping” is approved of and praised.
First, when the Catholic Church in the US and elsewhere consulted the leading psychologists of the post-WW II era, they were told that pedophilia rarely did lasting harm to the child victims unless too much was made of it. This effectively sanctioned cover-ups and lack of care for the victims.
The advice of the experts was based on the research of Alfred Kinsey. When, a decade or two ago, independent researchers were permitted access to his primary source data, it was found that his research on pedophilia mostly consisted of interviews with active pedophiles.
In effect, Kinsey endorsed a relatively benign view of pedophilia based on the opinions of active, unrepentant criminal pedophiles. This view was then uncritically transmitted through the profession.
Second, when pedophile priests were sent to counseling, the lay experts too often called them cured after a few months and recommended their return to active ministry. Professional and clerical opinion and criminal and civil law to the contrary was disregarded as a matter of policy. The results were of course catastrophic.
Third, for decades, the Catholic hierarchy has often been under the sway of an entrenched "pink mafia" who actively protect and promote homosexuals, even when they carry on in a predatory manner. Sadly, Pope Francis is now accommodating that element.
Fourth, traditional Catholic teaching, established law, and ordinary common sense are against all of the above. Homosexuality is considered intrinsically disordered in Catholic teaching, with pedophilia a grave sin, a serious crime, and a civil wrong. Had the Church followed that, it would not have fallen into the era of decline it now experiences.
Some Catholic clergy. The abuses, and they were horrible, were committed by a small minority of priests, statistically fewer than in other organizations and religious groups. To falsely portray this as a widespread problem among Catholic priests and unique to the Catholic Church is to betray a bias and hate filled anti-Catholic agenda.
i don’t think it was the crime so much as the cover up.
You have a pervert priest get caught, so instead of punishing him, you just send him to another parish.
who thinks like that? Unless keeping him away from his “kid of choice” was supposed to be the punishment? I really do not understand this. Shame on them!
Unfortunately, media bias does not explain the appalling misconduct of Catholic clergy.
Some Catholic clergy. The abuses, and they were horrible, were committed by a small minority of priests, statistically fewer than in other organizations and religious groups. To falsely portray this as a widespread problem among Catholic priests and unique to the Catholic Church is to betray a bias and hate filled anti-Catholic agenda.
It isn’t so much that the pedophile priests were abusing minors and in cases adults as well, the issue that indicts the entire Church is that the higher-ups including Bishops, Cardinals, and likely Rome itself that continued the cover-up. Priests were transferred from the location where they committed such offenses and placed in other parishes and schools where new victims were available. Some were sent for “therapy” and then reassigned only to reoffend. It’s no wonder former Catholics have abandoned the formal Catholic Church. An immoral hierarchy preaching morality is not sustainable.
Yup.
And no doubt, Kinsey’s views of pedophila were widely accepted because people WANTED to believe them because, they had those inclinations themselves and wanted justification to continue doing it.
Hence a good example of why we should not follow the advice of the world, but obey the clear, unequivocal teachings of Scripture.
Based simply on those caught and reports. The only one who actually knows the true number is God.
And honestly, making claims about statistics can lead to false representations. If a smaller sized group of say, 10 (an extreme example to be sure) had one member who does that, then the rate of abuse is 10%. A very misleading representation and it cannot be honestly extrapolated to presume that if the group were larger that that 10% number would hold true.
To falsely portray this as a widespread problem among Catholic priests and unique to the Catholic Church is to betray a bias and hate filled anti-Catholic agenda.
Nobody ever presented it as a Catholic only problem and as far as how widespread it is, well again, only God knows but considering the rates of reported homosexuality within the Catholic priesthood, it does leave Catholicism open a great deal of speculation.
And as has been stated MANY times before, people know that abusers will find ways to abuse. The issue isn't as much as some abusers infiltrated the priesthood to abuse, as much as the mishandling of it over the years.
The big issue is the protection racket that protected and enabled abusive priests for so long. If the Catholic hierarchy had clamped down immediately and dealt with it appropriately when it first came to light, there would be far fewer victims because of recidivism at the very least.
Exactly.
Thank you.
—> The abuses, and they were horrible, were committed by a small minority of priests,
• that have been revealed so far
• that occurred under the previous 5 popes - at least
• that were covered up by the majority and continued as priests despite their horrific abuse
• that are a subset of the 20-45% o priests who are gay perverts
• that will be celebrated this Saturday night at the Vatican drug and gay sex orgy, as reported in Italian newspapers
• as has existed and been approved by multiple popes and almost all the hierarchy.
God’s church isn’t a gay church.
At least Rome’s theology is correct.
Considering that Catholics claim their priests and popes are Christ’s representatives here on earth, it appears that they are misrepresenting Him an a very serious way.
Jesus never practiced, condoned, nor covered up sin. I cannot fathom the spiritual damage done to a child who is told that the priest who is abusing him or her is representative of Jesus. No wonder so many people are giving up on God.
On the contrary, He gives instructions throughout Scripture in how to deal with sin in the church and that those in positions of spiritual authority are even are accountable than others.
If the Catholic hierarchy truly believes they are Christ’s representatives here on earth, they have a very high bar to live up to and need to at least be making to effort to achieve that standing. And it does not include allowing for corruption, immorality, debauchery amongst themselves of their followers.
Whatever happened to believing Jesus? Go and sin no more doesn’t mean what it says? Or does it need to be *interpreted*?
A point that can be broadened however, is to say that
ALL Christians are "representatives" of Christ - not just clergy.
All are sinners, and we are obligated to bring Christ to the world,
and any sin, a Priest's sins or even ours, is a rejection of God- and in need of repentance.
So you are right though, that we should hope
to expect more from sinful men "of the Cloth".
But wait, there's more...
In that "representing" of Christ, in Apostolic tradition,
the clergy are responsible to "act" in the Person of Christ,
in "persona Christi" - as St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians
in what sins he had forgiven was "in the presence of Christ..."
"en prosopo Christou"(Greek).
All of which properly conforms to Jesus' Apostolic promise that:
"He that hears you, Hears me".
Now taking that even a step higher, for Catholics only,
the Priest consecrating the Eucharistic does so piously, in the person of Christ,
when the Priest proclaims "this is my Body-This is the Cup of My blood"
as Christ instituted when he said,
"Do THIS in memory of me".
It is then cemented there in Apostolic Tradition that ONLY
an ordained Priest who can offer
the re-presentation of the once-for-all Sacrifice of the Lord.
To piss that all away, to fall to a sexual perversity in their Holy capacity, is in fact criminal all around.
That said, you can see how even more heinous the sin of a predatory Priest or even Bishop actually is.
They are ordained through Holy Orders to be acting in the capacity of Christ-
just as his Apostles were charged to be his acting presence beyond the Resurrection.
I believe, but not condemning, that this is a sin against the Holy Spirit-
that will not be forgiven in this world- or the next.
Thanks you for finally realizing the mantra about Mary's 'sinlessness' is false.
but the law will go after the Catholic church on the sketchiest of evidence or no evidence while they condemn dead priests that can not defend themselves....
I say ONLY accusations that can be PROVED in CRIMINAL court should be used to destroy many priests...
and of course, there has been no embellishment and falsehoods right?.....wrong....
Wouldn't then my "all" have to include infants, toddlers, mentally
handicapped people and even Jesus then?
Doesn't that "all"require one to include even those
that we know for a fact have not sinned?
God created the first Eve sinless,
I'm sure he could do what
he desired to do with the New Eve just the same...
without clearing that with anyone...
;)
Downplaying sexual abuse of children is reprehensible, but as predictable as the sunrise, Catholics pull out the *hey, we’re all sinners* card as if homosexuality and pedophilia are big nothingburgers.
Scripture’s instructions are to deal with sin, not enable it and allow it amongst the clergy.
The Catholic church has more than dropped the ball on dealing with despicable sin like pedophilia and blowing it off and refusing to condemn it or condemn the mishandling of abusive priests is very telling.
NO WAY should they ever be considered eligible to continue to serve in that capacity. They should haven been defrocked and jailed.
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