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AardigeAfrikaner - well put
There are a number of different factors that contributed to the problem but we can reasonably assume that the lack of proper screening you mention was one of them. When I was attending a catholic school back in the 60's, recruiters made the rounds to explain the priest shortage crisis that the church was then facing. Shortfalls for the coming years where projected at 10,000 priests worldwide and the shortfall numbers had been rising steadily since the mid 50's. Celibacy is also a contributing factor.
posted by
gomedome
on April 23, 2008 at 5:48 AM
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I agree
People who are given the responsibility to look after other peoples spiritual/psychological welfare cannot be excused for doing the opposite of what they pretend to do. I know it is difficult to screen people for the type of personality that is prone to such obvious antisocial behavior, but one would have thought that this organization, who not too long ago claimed to be the only representative of God on earth, would have some means of screening and controlling their "holy" representatives. If they are unable to do so they are obviously not in possession or command of a deeper/higher/holier or whatever "other" power/knowledge than anybody else and they should therefore be treated like everybody else and suffer the consequences of their actions in firstly perpetrating these horrible acts and secondly in covering it up. Simply disgusting that anybody or organization can pretend to be "better" than anybody else and continuously be guilty of the very acts they condemn others to hell for.
posted by
AardigeAfrikaner
on April 23, 2008 at 4:50 AM
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Ariala - when it is considered that a church institution represents itself
as spiritual leaders and the epitome of alltruism . . . .
. . . to act like a sleazy corporation protecting its assets, doesn't quite cut it. It is only in recent years that the thought of a reparative attitude towards the victims has been a part of their mentality.
posted by
gomedome
on April 22, 2008 at 3:32 PM
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FineYoungSinger - I'm going to suggest that you stop reading my posts
You clearly only see what you want to see.
I only have first hand experience with the catholic church, it is not likely that I am going to write about any other denomination. There are a number of reasons why the catholic church has become the focal point to the general public of child molestation issues amongst clergy. A great deal of this has to do with how they have handled themselves, the fact that they are the largest of all religions being faced with this issue and the fact that they are the wealthiest. But the real key to the negative perception is their actions, both in exacerbating the problem and in the aftermath.
If you were to look, you would find that in most posts I have written on this issue, I make a point of attempting some form of balance with reminders that not every diocese was involved in this, or that all priests should not be tarred with the same brush.
I used the word "reprieve" in the line you have quoted in the hope that it is vague enough as I attempted to define what it is you are doing with your statistics. I did not suggest that you are saying the guilty are less guilty but you are attempting to alter a perception about the number of occurrences. In that attempt you unwittingly belittle the position held by priests, you do it again in the closing paragraph of your last comment. Priests are not part of mainstream society, they are spiritual leaders, have taken vows of celibacy and have dedicated themselves to the service of their God, which in of itself carries a number of inherent responsibilities. They should be held to a much higher standard than mainstream society in regards to one of society's most heinous of crimes.
posted by
gomedome
on April 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM
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I think the reason this is a big deal and should remain so is because
the church is suppose to be a safe place. But instead of being safe, it was a refuge for pedofiles! Same thing with the Boy Scouts...when they pull this stunt, they need to be held responsible as well...And if the Pope and this church is suppose to be THE CHURCH of GOD (as they claim), representatives of Christ Himself, then why didn't they know this was going on and stop it in the first place? They did know, and they covered it up. Sorry, my sympathies like with the victims, not the perpetrators in this beast system.
posted by
Ariala
on April 22, 2008 at 12:11 PM
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In your post, you state:
"To suggest that catholic clergy somehow deserve any form of reprieve due to the fact that they fall into the same occurance percentages as mainstream society belittles their position."
No one is suggesting this at all, and to think that the level of guilt is what's at stake here is never the point when discussing this issue with a Catholic. No one ever claimed that the guilty are any less guilty because of a statistical presentation.
The reason that statistics are presented is to quell the hysteria surrounding this issue, to stop the blanket blame and ridicule of innocent members of the clergy who have done nothing. Turn on your TV if you want to refute this. The overall attitude that sexual misconduct of priests is the norm litters the media. The available statistics are drilled because it's unfair to lay blame upon an entire body of believers for the behavior of a handful of men. (I dare someone to point out another denomination blanket-attacked the way Catholicism has been over this issue, when there are plenty of clergy from other denominations sexually molesting children and not being dragged through the mud the way Catholicism is.)
Of course bishops in both the US and Canada covered up sexual abuse. So did police stations for their guilty officers; mothers and family members for guilty fathers, step-fathers and other male relatives; school boards for teachers, coaches or other administrators; other denominations for their clergy members---over the years there has been PLENTY of cover-up done by ALL abusers and their cohort. Does this mean that ALL policemen are guilty, and that we should tear them all down? ALL families? ALL boards of education? Of course not. But this is what's happening to the clergy--not even ALL of the clergy. Only the CATHOLIC clergy. Whether or not you state it directly, you certainly imply it though your unwavering attention to Catholic priests on this subject, and the responsibility that the Church must bear because of it. That's hardly just.
posted by
FineYoungSinger
on April 21, 2008 at 9:23 PM
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