Your post inspired me to look up the statistics on priest abuse, since I've never really had much of a handle on it. Start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_sex_abuse_cases
Note that the number of "proven" abusers is .2%, and that the total number of accusations "are similar to abuse in other institutions such as the preliminary estimate of education abuse statistics compiled by the US Department of Education."
These figures seem to be from biased sources, but I haven't found any comparative statistics elsewhere. Is there evidence that celibate priests are more likely to abuse than noncelibate priests?
Posted by Kanzeon at April 14, 2008 03:01 PMAlthough I was raised Catholic, was an altar boy for some years and even attended a Catholic high school with mandatory religious training I don't ever recall being told that children are "imps of Satan".
The most intense physical punishment I can remember was that ruler across the knuckles, those nuns were fast!.
Posted by charlie at April 14, 2008 03:17 PMYou stated:
"These children were routinely raped and tortured..."
Wouldn't it be better to avoid broadening the meaning of the word torture at this moment in history? That word will become increasingly important in the next months and years. I'd prefer to have it mean exactly what it has for centuries.
Posted by Dave Cooper at April 14, 2008 03:23 PMWhy the Catholic Church still exists amazes me. The sexual abuse scandals should have closed them down long ago. The Pope is only here to try to spark a dwindling membership.
Brainwashing children for 2,000 years is also child abuse, but on a grander scale, and very effective at that.
The flock increasing birth control ban has caused countless suffering and women have been 2nd class citizens since the Councils of Trent left their rights on the cutting room floor while editing the bible.
Telling the sheeple from tax exempt pulpits to vote against Kerry may have caused the 8 years of Hell we currently find ourselves in.
As a non-godbot I think all religions are delusional, but this one has to be the absolute worst.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 14, 2008 03:40 PMCharlie, in the late 18th century, children were often referred to as "imps of Satan" or the result of original sin.
Posted by Jeff Dinelli at April 14, 2008 03:45 PMAre we making a big deal about Pope? Is he really that effective? If he was he would have stopped the genocide in Darfur. He could have directed the Catholic nations like Spain, Portugal, and the South American nations to send troops to Darfur and protect the women and children that are massacared everyday. Or is it that these people that are masscared are not christians and therefore not his problem?
I think these kind of leaders of organized religion have no power to do anything worthwhile. Let us not elevate them to a status of head of a state.
Posted by suresh at April 14, 2008 03:45 PMOops, I meant to say the origin of the "imps of Satan" description for children goes as far back as the late 18th century.
Posted by Jeff Dinelli at April 14, 2008 04:19 PM"As a non-godbot I think all religions are delusional, but this one has to be the absolute worst."
Then, I suppose, that a religiosity that drives its believers to hack the heads off non-believers while screaming "God is great" is not as "worst?"
Or, perhaps, a religiosity that that drives its believers to fly airplanes into buildings while screaming "God is great" is not as "worst?"
Maybe a religiosity that that drives its believers to blow themselves up in pizza parlors while screaming "God is great" is not as "worst?"
But, then again, a religiosity that that drives its followers to capture a school full of children and then kill a bunch of them while screaming "God is great" is not as "worst?"
On the other hand, it might be the case that a religiosity that that causes its followers to conduct the murder of women as "honor killings," and in horrific manner, is not as "worst?"
But on the third hand, a religiosity that that causes its followers to blow up trains and buses filled with commuters on the way to work is not as "worst?"
Maybe, however, it might be the case that a religiosity that that drives its followers to employ the mentally-handicapped to blow up markets is not as "worst?"
"He could have directed the Catholic nations like Spain, Portugal, and the South American nations to send troops to Darfur and protect the women and children that are massacared everyday. Or is it that these people that are masscared are not christians and therefore not his problem?"
Actually, the Pope does not "direct" modern nations to pursue a given course of action: that (last) ended (at least) a couple of hundred years ago. It is that religiosity in the "holy" cities of Mecca and Medina that can direct nations to undertake actions -- not to prevent massacre, but to cause it -- that maintain the authority to direct nations to undertake actions causing the murder of non-muslims.
As a former Catholic (non-abused altarboy during the Latin to English transition), it still pains me to acknowledge that Church leaders aided and abetted the tragedy of sexual abuse.
IMO, the Boston bishops in particular should have been charged in criminal court under the RICO provisions.
According to the National Association to Prevent Child Abuse in Children: "Statistics show that 85% of sexual abusers are interfamily (e.g., an uncle, father, stepfather or family friend, baby sitters, etc.) and only a small percentage of sexual abusers are clergy or church employees in all religions ...
According to the most conservative statistics between 1950 and the present, 6,000 Catholic clergy abused 13,000 children in the U.S. Priest abusers only make up 4% of the total priests".
+ + +
4% is a far cry from the 0.2% cited in the Wikipedia review as correctly noted by Kanzeon.
Besides taking a very aggressive approach to child abuse prevention at the diocesan level, the only other good news that I can find (the John Jay Report to the US Bishops) is that the prevalence of reports of clergy abuse peaked in the 1970's and had returned to the (relatively low) 1950's baseline by the 1990's.
Posted by tfitznc at April 14, 2008 06:00 PMThe historian Mel Brooks showed us that the inquisition was no picnic either. The crusades were as nasty as jihad. So you want them to share worst religion, fine. Both violent, both delusional. 2 violent wrongs don't make a peaceful right.
ps What the hell happened to the Packers?
Posted by TIKI AL at April 14, 2008 09:21 PMOops, I meant to say the origin of the "imps of Satan" description for children goes as far back as the late 18th century.
Jeff, what is your source for your statement, "clergymen are . . taught to state as an affirmation of faith that children are "imps of" or "limbs of" Satan." I think this undermines the otherwise important points in your article.
Posted by mcg at April 14, 2008 11:00 PMYou can find some interesting commentary on this subject at 3:14 here. (Entirely serious but Not Work Safe.)
Posted by CMike at April 15, 2008 01:34 AMDONE.
Posted by peter at April 15, 2008 10:13 AMNo, it's not done. He has to explain how exactly the church's hierarchy is gonna handle another incident. Are they just gonna ship the offender off to another church somewhere safe again? What's the procedure?
It is good to learn the mighty Pontiff reads The Left Coaster, though. He brought it up before the PopePlane ever even hit the asphalt.
Posted by Jeff Dinelli at April 15, 2008 12:21 PMI wonder if Father Guido Sarducci will host the "Finda da Popes ina da pizza" contest again.
Did you know Hitler was Catholic and never renounced it right to the end?
Posted by TIKI AL at April 15, 2008 01:00 PMTIKI, good point, there's a history of Nazis and Catholics that is largely ignored or is unknown. The church helped a lot of Nazi criminals escape prosecution. They also helped Jews, but those people had to have been baptized, not the Nazis.
This Pope was a member of the Nazi Youth.
Posted by Jeff Dinelli at April 15, 2008 02:57 PMThis Pope worked for JP II, from Poland. If there were any hold overs from HJ, he would have dealt with them. He didn't need to read our little blog...he was asked about it.
Posted by peter at April 15, 2008 03:17 PM"This Pope was a member of the Nazi Youth." ...JD
I believe that the excellent physical training that the Holy Father received in this organization is the reason that at his advanced age he is able to stand and wave simultaneously from the Mercedes Popemobile.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 15, 2008 04:10 PM