The Business Of War And Clergy Abuse

Here is an excellent example of an article that presumes guilt. If you want to know what is at the heart of the charges of pedophilia among churchmen it is simple: the Catholic Church is the largest organization opposed to the USA invasion of Moslem countries.

The charges in USA first surfaced back when the Church opposed Bush W's invasion of Iraq back in 2003. Now that the USA seems to be readying an attack on Iran, another sweep of charges may serve to silence Church critics of USA military adventures.

In the face of the assault on the Church, the Catholic bishops foolishly accepted the advice of "experts" who once the US Bishops established protocols to deal with the charges, the very lawyers who advised the Churchmen turned around and began suing the church, knowing what weaknesses were built into the protocols.

We do have a problem of definitions. What cases exist are examples of long ago a young priest and older students, not the old man jumping a child that the salacious charges conjure up. There are degrees of guilt and crime, and if each case were adjudicated (not possible, since the statute of limitations is up) the truth would not be so compelling. And some cases are outright false, as Cardinal Bernardin suffered worse for a false charge of child abuse than he did when he died of cancer. In his case a priest angry at Bernardin's liberality convinced a disturbed young man to level a false charge against Bernbardin. In Seattle, a priest who was a frequent visitor to my home as I was growing up with my two brothers, was accused, after his death so he could not defend himself, of grooming and sexually abusing three brothers in turn. A charge so awful it must be true, one would think. Or a charge so awful it works everytime. I have found at least seven other places in USA and Canada which such a charge was levied against different priests. An event that is statistically impossible. And then finally, I was there. I was in Jesuit and Christian Brother schools. We knew who faced sexual orientation challenges. And those of us who had no interest stayed away from it. Those with an interest, joined in, like say, joining the chess club. For those who engaged back then to come forward now and want more, that is not right. Let them make their charges in open court, and let their peers say what they saw at the time. And for those quick to accept the charges against the priests, what crimes are you responsible for that are acceptable, and not condemned? What challenges have you faced that you have not failed in?

If people were really concerned about protecting children, then the focus would be on the public schools, where the rate of child sexual abuse is far higher than anyting reported about the hyper-scrutinzed Catholic Church..

People are convinced that it is celibacy that drives errant priests on sexual adventures, but this does not explain how the Protestant churches with married clergy have the same problems, at a higher rate.

A Seattle judge spent years taking slight blond youths that came before him in court to his cabin in the woods for a little hands-on discipline. People knew, reported it, but the system did nothing. The judge committed suicide when a newspaper was about to out him. That was back when some newspapers had some independence. Not any longer. When the powers that be say "spread false charges against the Catholic Church" everyone, including Drudgereport, falls in line. There is a tremendous opportunity for anyone who wishes to do good while doing well: begin reporting the news accurately and fairly, something otherwise not available in USA.

Bookmark this post --- Email this post