Friday, February 19, 2010

Catholic church stuck in a vicious cycle

The Catholic Church is in the news yet again.

Not only does the German Catholic Church face possible child abuse charges, but the Irish Church is being asked for $1 billion in payments to the alleged victims that have been recently speaking out this past week.

And yet again, Pope Benedict XVI doesn’t seem to have his eye on the right prize.

This past week, he has been making many formal statements regarding the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on the increase in instances of child abuse and molestation.

Some of these statements include the promise that “the church will never stop deploring and condemning child abuse,” and the church response to cleaning up the mess “was handled poorly.”

None of his statements regarded how the abuse must have affected the children. Last week he did, however, manage to mention, “Divorce between parents are not without consequences for children.”

What about the subject at hand?

The groundbreaking 2006 documentary “Deliver Us From Evil” features interviews of several victims (male and female) of church sexual abuse.

The common thread between them was the fact that all of their parents condoned the child spending extended alone time with the priest, which resulted in sexual exploitation.

The idea of each parent was that a man of the church wasn’t capable of malice, only morality, so there was no reason why their child shouldn’t spend quality time with them.

The documentary further discusses the issues of church secrecy and manipulation to keep perpetrators out of legal trouble, and out of the spotlight.

It’s been a vicious cycle. But amid all of these atrocities, who are we supposed to turn to for truth?

A father in Tempe could teach us all an important lesson. Last week, Tempe police arrested a church counselor for intended sexual abuse of a minor.

The authorities were alerted after the 11-year-old girl’s father recorded phone conversations and text messages sent by the 21-year-old counselor.

Tempe police officers executed a sting operation and arrested the man at Arizona Mills mall last Wednesday.

This is the difference it can make when a parent stays as informed as possible.

Of course, many instances of abuse will happen regardless of parental involvement, and I’m not asking anyone to be paranoid and neurotic.

But I am asking for parents (and all people of faith) to remain faithful to their beliefs, and themselves, while also consider realities and possibilities.

Faith and skepticism do not have to be mutually exclusive.

But the question still stands: Who should we rely on when faith isn’t enough to keep us safe?

The answer should always be “ourselves.”
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