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Amazon.co.uk07 January 2008
Vatican dumps its guilt on the faithful
The Vatican is asking Roman Catholics everywhere to indulge in a prayer marathon in order to rid the church of the sin of child abuse. Yeah, that’ll work…
The Roman Catholic church is displaying yet again how remote it is from the real world. It has come up with a novel way of atoning for its crimes - specifically, the abuse committed by some of its priests against the young people in their charge.
Most sane people would see long jail terms for the perpetrators as a reasonable start. Removing ‘celibate’ religious extremists from positions of authority over vulnerable children would be another good move.
But no. The church has decided that Catholics everywhere should bend the knee in self-abasement to atone for the pervert priests. Never mind that the fault lies with an upper hierarchy more concerned with covering its tracks and maintaining a public image than in discovering the truth of its own members’ crimes. The top brass has decided that the blame and shame must be carried by all Catholics.
The initiative is the work of Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, though it is generally held that it must have the approval of Pope Benedict. The atonement will take the form of a prayer marathon. And a fat lot of good that will do the people whose lives have been affected.
Some recompense has been forthcoming in the US, with around $2 billion having been paid by the church to its victims. There are actions impending or in progress elsewhere, too. I can’t image that money will ever make up for the damage done. But at least it’s a honest response.
Getting ordinary Catholics to indulge the church in a pointless act of ‘adoration’ would be laughably silly if not for the context. As it is, it is dishonest, pointless and self-adoring.
(1) 7 January 2008 at 6:06 pm
Jim
The problem you identify is that people often regard their religious organizations as powers unto themselves that have jurisdiction over themselves and so should be excused from society’s constraints. The result is the assumption that somehow churches etc. should have special privileges.
I suppose that many organizations that are not religious would act in similar ways, but religions seem to have an easier time once the illegal acts are uncovered.
Some churches in Canada have been nearly bankrupt by settlements over abuses in religious residential homes were native children were essentially warehoused to be ‘civilized’.
(2) 20 January 2008 at 8:07 pm
MFZ
Let’s dispose of one glaring fallacy for once and for all.
Celibacy IS NOT a contributing factor to sexual targeting of children.
Pedophilia is a disordered sexual orientation that exist whether the “afflicted” is under conditions of celibacy or in a relationship with another consenting adult who “consents” liberally. MOST pedophilic acting out is done by hetorosexual adult men who are or have been married. If celibacy itself was a motivating factor than awkward teenage boys with acne would be the main perpetrators.
That aside, I can not believe that the current head of the Catholic church is so naive. (John Paul was not willing to be any more assertive in addressing the problem either.) What is this new Papal decree really intended to affect, a pretense that something is being done without having to actually do any of the disgusting work called for? Placate the gullible faithfull? As a solution, it’s a non-starter for sure.
(3) 20 January 2008 at 10:11 pm
Steve
>> Celibacy IS NOT a contributing factor to sexual targeting of children … If celibacy itself was a motivating factor than awkward teenage boys with acne would be the main perpetrators. <<
I’m not questioning your first assertion quoted above: I’d actually be interested in seeing some sources on this. However, I do think you’re talking about something else.
Priests in these circumstances may not be pedophiles per se. The situation seems to me to be men who may be under some psychological stress as a result of artificially repressing sexual urges (which may, in themselves, be perfectly ‘normal’) and who, when they fail to remain celibate as a result of this stress find themselves largely in the company of boys. After all, we know how otherwise straight men become functional homosexuals in prison, likewise pubescent boys in all-male boarding schools (who, I suppose, are technically also pedophiles). In both cases, this behaviour may (usually does) end once outside that environment.
So what I’m saying is that it is asking for trouble to create an environment in which you have sexually repressed men and vulnerable boys. Of course, you don’t have to be a priest to be sexually repressed, but it doesn’t help.
(4) 20 January 2008 at 10:30 pm
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