Finally, the press seems to be getting it. Sexual abuse of minors isn't just a celibate priest problem and scandal. It is experienced in every human institution on earth, no matter the religion or if there is no religious affiliation.
Finally, we are seeing reporting on the Boy Scouts, universities, sporting events and today I saw a news story on abuse of deaf children at a secular institution in Connecticut going back decades.
And of course, anyone familiar with those incarcerated for sex abuse of minors, about 99.9% of them are married men and women, not celibates.
The one area that the press seems to neglect is public schools and the grave problems there for decades.
But let's focus on the Catholic Church and her priesthood/relgious life. Are there studies comparing abuse prior to the 1960's sexual revolution and afterward?
And now that we have had a homosexual sexual revolution, meaning acceptance of the more flamboyant aspects of this lifestyle and acceptance of same sex "marriage" is there more or less homosexual abuse of minors, especially with male partners adopting children?
Is the issue a moral issue revolving around concupicense or a true perversion. Keep in mind that the homosexual lobby does not want to label any form of sexuality as perverted and in need of psychiatric therapy to overcome.
In the past therapy for abusers was the first priority in the Church, today it is calling law enforcement.
Will this keep bishops and others in positions of authority from enabling serial abuse by those under their authority?
9 comments:
Make pederasty a capital crime and kill a few of them and it might slow down.
Execution does not deter crime.
States in the USA that execute criminals do not have lower capital crime rates than states that do execute criminals. Countries that execute criminals do not have lower capital crime rates than counties that do not execute criminals. The homicide rate in the USA is five times greater than in European countries, and none of them execute criminals.
"Are there studies comparing abuse prior to the 1960's sexual revolution and afterward?"
I don't know that we have any reliable data on abuse prior to the 1960's. It may be there - I just don't know and haven't been able to find much via Google.
Part of this is because our conception of what constitutes "abuse" has changed. There was a time when it was not possible to charge a man with rape if the person he forced himself on was his legal wife. "Rape" did not exist, legally, in marriage.
A local newspaper had a full page advertisement specifically looking for victims of clergy sexual abuse. Many parishes have Boy Scout troops. I don’t ever recall lawyers searching for children that were sexually abused by public school teachers. Predators often seek professions that give them both cover and prey. Without denying the abuse occurred, I get the impression that this is a targeted hunt both to expose sexual abuse of minors, and to depict the Catholic Church as evil.
You state: “ Keep in mind that the homosexual lobby does not want to label any form of sexuality as perverted and in need of psychiatric therapy to overcome.”
Please state the evidence for this assertion which is merely a presumption on your part. I know many homosexuals and none that I have met hold this opinion. Almost all of the gay peoples I’ve met would assert that there are sexual behaviours which are perverted and rightly considered criminal and requiring therapeutic intervention. You’d be the first to hit back if someone made the same unfounded claim regarding clerics or any so called “clerical lobby”.
Andrew Rex:
It is a problem for homosexuals to label any form of sexuality as perverted when the very acts they engage in are perversions of the pre-eminent purpose and form God intended for the sexual act, which is within the context of male-female complementarity and in accordance with his law, and therefore within the state of matrimony.
"It is a problem for homosexuals to label any form of sexuality as perverted when the very acts they engage in are perversions of the pre-eminent purpose and form God intended for the sexual act, which is within the context of male-female complementarity and in accordance with his law, and therefore within the state of matrimony.
Them it seems, that it is a problem for you, me, or anyone else to label any act as "sin" when your, my, or anyone else's actions are perversions of the pre-eminent purpose and form God intended for our actions, be they expressions of human sexuality, use of power, use of money, use of natural resources, etc., when these actions are not in accordance with God's law.
That a person is a sinner - whatever the sin may be - does not negate or render moot the assertion of the sinner that some actions are sinful.
Of course, when lobbies try to enshrine in law their sinful purposes which are perversions of God's Law; and when these same persons shame those who oppose their agenda by name calling (homophobia, hate speech, which is a perversion of language in order to manipulate and marginalize) we who hold to God's truths though sinners have a right to exert those truths in the face of civil, legal maneuvers.
If a person desires therapy to counteract homosexual or same sex tendencies, he should have a right in the moral law and in society to seek that therapy from a licensed practitioner. To make this therapy illegal is a pervsion of God's law and a negation of His grace to bring redemption in the here and now to a person suffering greatly with unnatural urges they wish to mitigate.
Some try to justify homophobia, the expression of which can include assault and murder, being fired, bullying, social isolation, buy saying it is just an attempt to advance an agenda.
A gay or lesbian person would be entirely free to seek counseling assistance to help him learn to live happily as a celibate
Conversion therapy has a difficult history. In some circumstances, parents have tried to force their children to undergo it. In some, the tactics employed by therapists, often from a fundamentalist Christian perspective, have been little less than torture.
It also can have disastrous results. Children forced to undergo such therapy have a three to five times greater chance of attempting suicide
We are called with the help of God's grace and following the laws and the teachings of his holy Scripture while under the guidance of the Catholic Church to recognize sin within ourselves and strive to holiness by regular prayer and reception of the sacraments of confession and Holy Communion. It is not for us to justify our own sinfulness by pointing out the transgressions of others. Yes, we are all sinners but some sins are more serious than others. Yes, "our actions, be they expressions of human sexuality, use of power, use of money, use of natural resources" can either be good or bad, virtuous or sinful depending on how we use these things. Those who are in a lifestyle of committing serious sin are in need of much prayer that they may see and acknowledge the sinful condition they are in and come to repentance and seek the forgiveness of God.
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