Catholics must change the statistics on child sex abuse

[Pax_et_Bonum]

By Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl

Washington, DC October 20, 2010: Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl answers questions from the media in Our Lady’s chapel following mass in St. Matthew’s Cathedral on October 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Gerald Martineau for The Washington Post) (Gerald Martineau - FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)
Sixty-five thousand, nine hundred and sixty four. That is the number of children sexually abused in the United States in one year (2009), according to reports from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. These young people were abused by family, neighbors, teachers, coaches, even strangers. It is a sobering number, and 65,964 children too many.

This tragedy has to end, but how? The answer may come from the Catholic Church clergy abuse scandal and a landmark study of the causes and context just released by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Their findings are relevant not only to the church, but to every parent and every organization working with children: the best way to prevent child sexual abuse is to remove opportunity.

That sounds easy enough, yet our experience shows that many parents are not aware that their children are at risk even in their own neighborhoods. Too often, parents do not know what questions to ask a school, church or youth organization and too often these groups have uneven child safety policies. That provides opportunities for predators skilled at seeking access to children. Who would suspect a favorite teacher, youth leader, coach, neighbor or faith leader? Abusers look for opportunity and target children in wealthy suburbs, middle class neighborhoods and areas steeped in poverty. Increasingly, predators are finding young people online.

The Archdiocese of Washington has had stringent child protection policies for 25 years. We have learned from our experience and offer our top five recommendations to keep children safe:

washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/catholics-must-change-the-statistics-on-child-sex-abuse/2011/05/22/AFcldP9G_blog.html

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

I think a little more "mea culpa,mea culpa mea MAXIMA culpa"is in order-about 100 years worth before we start advising ANYONE.

 

[Godfollower]

I think a little more "mea culpa,mea culpa mea MAXIMA culpa"is in order-about 100 years worth before we start advising ANYONE.

Okay, but don’t allow others to abuse children through our inaction, either. If another church or another organization is trying to deal with preventing sex abuse, we should be willing to share what we have so painfully learned.

 

[Holly3278]

You know, I honestly don’t understand why the Catholic Church is in the news so much when it comes to sex abuse. The statistics show that Protestant churches are just as bad on this, if not worse. So, why on earth does the mainstream media only focus on the Catholic Church? Can anyone say “bias”?

 

[Godfollower]

You know, I honestly don’t understand why the Catholic Church is in the news so much when it comes to sex abuse. The statistics show that Protestant churches are just as bad on this, if not worse. So, why on earth does the mainstream media only focus on the Catholic Church? Can anyone say “bias”?

Also, we hold ourselves out as the only Church established by God Himself. We should be held to a higher standard when members of our hierarchy – who are representatives of Jesus Christ on earth – act immorally. It’s no different than expecting CPAs to handle their taxes better than the rest of us, or punishing lawyers more harshly for breaking the law.

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

Also, we hold ourselves out as the only Church established by God Himself. We should be held to a higher standard when members of our hierarchy – who are representatives of Jesus Christ on earth – act immorally. It’s no different than expecting CPAs to handle their taxes better than the rest of us, or punishing lawyers more harshly for breaking the law.

I quite agree but it goes beyond that.There is a palpable secular hatred of the Church for the mirror it holds up to society and that society hates what it sees as condemning it for sin-abortion so-called same sex “marriage”,sex within bona fide marriage only,condemnation of artificial contraception,etc.
When we fall through this diabolical scandal there is great glee and schadenfreude within the secular leftist anti-God media because how can WE the Church DARE lecture them?It gives them license and allows them to dismiss us as hypocrites.You can quote statistics till you’re blue in the face that it is the homosexual sin of hebephelia or that priests are the least among us to commit such crimes.THEY DON"T CARE…
It really is a case of the above and the Caesar’s Wife Syndrome previously noted.Anti-Catholic prejudice is the most deeply rooted prejudice in th United States.And it sure does not help when these sick men bring scandal and disgrace on the One,True,Catholic,Holy and Apostolic Church founded by Christ.

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

Anti-Catholicism is deeply rooted in both the colonial history and in the immigrant history of the U.S. since 1620. As a colony of British England, the US maintained the hostile emotions and sensibilities of the British. In addition, the English reformation spirituality, which formed the consciousness and life style of this first immigrant group, continued to distinguish them from other later European immigrants such as the Irish and Italians, who were obviously Catholic. Older Catholics might remember signs posted in factories in Boston. That said “No Irish Need Apply.” However, this evening, Fr. Mark presented a NEW anti-Catholicism, which has recently emerged in the last two decades from the new social location of America and he explained how we should understand the phenomenon from a Catholic perspective.

Anti-Catholic assumptions are part of the American mind-set, complete with a shared vocabulary and a shared reasoning process. Anti-Catholicism has been a culturally, intellectually, and philosophically pervasive phenomenon in the U.S. A recently published book, Anti-Catholicism in American Culture, introduced a scientific study of news coverage undertaken by the Center for Media and Public Affairs. This study examined a sampling of nationally influential media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, and CBS Evening News, for fifteen years. According to the study, the most common topic covered on Catholics is the marginal role of women in the hierarchical power structure of the Church. The second most common topic was on sexual morality, in regard to the issues of abortion and birth control. Of course, the sexual abuse cases of priests were also reported frequently. The study concluded that the Church needed to adapt to the more egalitarian and democratic norms that characterize secular institutions of American society (Anti-Catholicism in American Culture, 220).

The conclusion of this research resonates with Fr. Massa’s analysis of the main structure of the new anti-Catholicism. Fr. Mark argued that Catholics see the world differently. I suppose he means Catholics have different assumptions and different actions based on those assumptions. First, Fr. Mark assumed that the American society has been shaped by a Reformed Protestant culture that relies heavily on an Enlightenment philosophy. Fr. Mark used David Tracy’s “analogical” Catholic way of seeing the world, comparing it to the “dialectical” Protestant world view. The analogical way has guided Catholics in seeing God in a concrete and tangible way within the context of community. On the contrary, the “dialectical” way has differentiated individual from community and encouraged individual achievement and commitment. Fr. Mark pointed out that the U.S. is a representative of a dialectical world view.

calnewman.org/MassaResp.html

 

[vsedriver]

I think a little more "mea culpa,mea culpa mea MAXIMA culpa"is in order-about 100 years worth before we start advising ANYONE.

so you don’t think anyone can learn from past mistakes and become proactive to prevent future children from becoming victims?

Name any other organization that also has had child abuse scandals that has worked so hard to prevent it. Public schools? Athletics? Other religions?

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

so you don’t think anyone can learn from past mistakes and become proactive to prevent future children from becoming victims?

Name any other organization that also has had child abuse scandals that has worked so hard to prevent it. Public schools? Athletics? Other religions?

Then it should be done in abject humility-a penance if you will for the DISGRACE our Lord’s Church was subjected to.