What drives the cover-up?

Fewer and fewer are entering the clergy. Many churches are not open even on Sundays. To a bishop, a low-paid highly educated parish priest is almost irreplaceable. The bishop cannot afford to sack him. So - the bishop finds some way of keeping him on and hopes for the best.

LETTTS not just single out 'Churches'.... how about we address such problems across EVERY aspect of our culture and society..

SWIMMING COACHES... ?

SCOUT MASTERS...?

ROTARY....?

LIONS...?

In fact ALL bodies where people are placed in positions of power, and we could look at the LAW FRATERNITY and JUDGES.. (remember the one who committed suicide in Sydney.. was found to be masterbating at Wynyard Subway station ?)

In fact..the ABSENCE of the mention of other parts of society in this thread, expose the deliberate and malicious and anti God nature of its motivation.

Does Amanda REALLY care about the victims of child abuse...

OR..

Does she care more about DESTROYING the credibility of "the Church" as a social instituion ? What could be the motive for this ?

Hmmmm *thinks*..ok.. here is a theory..

1/ Destroy all symbols of morality in the Community
2/ Proclaim some ideology (lets say Marxism)as the alternative.

Well gee... I've never come across THAT before...OH WAIT.. yes I have.. in just about every country and place where Marxists exist and where they struggle to gain POWER for themselves and line their pockets and nests with privilege and pompt.. "Peoples" parades.. and like the hypocritical Pharisees of Jesus day:

43Woe to you Pharisees! For(N) you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44Woe to you!(O) For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it."

Marxists are like that..and SO ARE priests who abuse children.. the priests are under MORE condemnation from Christ, but NEVER NEVER NEVER suggest that this is just a 'Church' problem.

amanda

thank you for this thoughtful article. perhaps the victims/survivors should being suing those who put the individual into the position of trust in the school. as well, the authorities should be prosecuting a person who talks about 'minor indiscretions' and 'he has put it all behind him' as a collaborator-in-crime. an offence to cover this form of reprehensible conduct - the enabling of a child sexual abuser - to continue the practice is something that ought to be able to be prosecuted. those who collaborate in 'covering up' are equally to be susceptible to prosecution.

also the crime of misprision of felony applies to the covering up/failure to report to authorities (police, etc - that is, the legitimate authorities, not those who usurp state/community authority) of serious crimes (felonies) which applies to sexual offences against children.

some states have abolished misprision of felony replacing it with a crime of 'covering up' for money. this should be revisited and a crime fashioned to deal with this 'cover up'/absolution - which should be recognised as a crime in itself.

it is astounding that churches have been allowed to set up bodies, etc to 'deal with' these crimes - without intervention from/of the authorities that are set up to deal authoritatively with them viz state police, dpp, etc. this is usurpation of authority which the community places in police, dpp, etc.

"Silly indiscretion,"did the man say?I'd like someone to hold him down and make him perform some disgusting acts and see if he still called it that..Nowhere in the article did i see any suggestion that this problem was only in the church.It just so happens, that is what the article was about.We are all well aware that it happens in all walks of life and that perverts pick jobs that give them easy access to children.Even a blue card is no guarantee that these sick individuals won't slip through the net.As you are well aware their other sections on this site dealing with child abuse and noone has tried to claim that these professions are the only ones where this happens.It somehow seems worse when it is a member of a religious order that is supposed to believe in love and treating children kindly.If we could all confess our sins and be exonerated from horrific crimes,imagine how much worse the world would be in.Shame on all those disgusting pieces of so-called humanity.LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE.

BOAZ_David

This is one of your least ethical posts. The article was about sexual abuse by clergy, not about abuse by swimming coaches, scout masters, judges et al. There are plenty of other articles about sexual abuse by non-clergy.

Nowhere in Amanda's article does she suggest that this is just a 'Church' problem. Show me where I'm wrong, David.

To leap from ..".the ABSENCE of the mention of other parts of society in this thread" to an accusation that the writer is deliberately and maliciously 'anti God' is logical nonsense and downright bizarre.

Even more bizarre is your suggestion - based on no evidence whatsoever - that Amanda doesn't "... REALLY care about the victims of child abuse..." Really David! (And where in your posting do you express your concern for those vulnerable children?)

Your old tack that it's an assault on the churches so as to enable some ideology to be given an advantage ("let's say Marxism" – might as well, why not kick the old commie can to try to distract the moronic right from the real issue of child sexual abuse.)

Now a really intelligent and sensitive Christian response to Amanada’s article would do one or more of the following:

(a) show some concern for the victims - they need our love and care;
(b) offer some insights into why clergy engage in child sexual abuse - we must find a way to stop it;
(c) show an understanding that sexual abuse by clergy is a fundamental breach of trust between pastoral carer and the child - I would have thought a reason for instant dismissal;
(d) offer some analysis of why churches so often put the welfare of their priests above the welfare of the child victims - they can't afford any more loss of credibility.

That’s what I would expect a real Christian to do David.

Yes BD I an afraid that is right, and your post highlights the fact Church's are trying to both hide and forgive the unforgivable.
Remember I once was among you , a Christian, from a family who very much still are.
And time and again have heard people who proclaim to be followers of God defend people who he[if he existed]would condemn to hell[if it existed.
While they do not these child molesters do exist in Church's of all faiths in number far too big.
Defending them is questioning the very reason people trust in Gods.
Think about your post please.