Differences between Catholic and Protestant abuse cases

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I read somewhere on one of the threads here that there are actually more Protestant ministers that have been convicted of abusing children than Catholic priests. Does anyone know if this is true, and if it is, can anyone provide some evidence? Thanks!
 
justamoose89 said:
I read somewhere on one of the threads here that there are actually more Protestant ministers that have been convicted of abusing children than Catholic priests. Does anyone know if this is true, and if it is, can anyone provide some evidence? Thanks!
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This is 7 years old so I am sure that there are many many more, but here is a Protestant website that compiled a list of abuse cases which had occurred up until 2003. There are a total of 838 cases according to the website.

reformation.com/CSA/allabuse.html

Also, here is an excerpt from a another article:
Insurance companies receive from Protestant churches each year about 260 reports involving allegations of sexual abuse committed against minors. This is LESS than the annual number of 228 abuse incidents reported against Catholic priests. That reality is particularly noteworthy because Catholics keep track of even “credible accusations,” which Southern Baptists don’t even bother to determine or keep records on.
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If that article is accurate, it is even more alarming when you consider that the Catholic Church is by far the largest Christian Church worldwide. So you would think that because there are soooo many more Catholics than protestants, there would be far more allegations concerning priests.
 
justamoose89 said:
I read somewhere on one of the threads here that there are actually more Protestant ministers that have been convicted of abusing children than Catholic priests. Does anyone know if this is true, and if it is, can anyone provide some evidence? Thanks!
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a couple of years ago down here in new orleans a protestant minister raped a few children, from what i understand he was recently executed, idk where the news report is but i am sure it can be found on wwltv.com/
 
You have to take it in a certain context. When the pastor of Main Street Bible Church is convicted of a sex crime, it will be reported regionally and is seen as a unique tragedy.
When it is a priest, even when it is an Episcopalian priest, the media reports it as Father Jones of St. Smith’s has been convicted and it is seen as a world-wide pattern of abuse, facilitated or covered up by Church authorities.

It does not help that certain dioceses apparently moved abusing priests around and left them in positions to offend again. Some denominations and some other groups have been accused of doing the same thing, but the Church is the biggest target for publicity even if our numbers are fewer in the percentages. They, however, should be taken to zero if possible. The damage of sexual abuse never goes away.
 
Tietjen said:
This is 7 years old so I am sure that there are many many more, but here is a Protestant website that compiled a list of abuse cases which had occurred up until 2003. There are a total of 838 cases according to the website.

reformation.com/CSA/allabuse.html

Also, here is an excerpt from a another article:
Originally Posted by stopbaptistpredators.org/alarmingnumbers.html
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Wonderful Post. This is the sort of thing that we need more of. Not abuse - but Documented and available and linked sources for the numbers.

Thanks.

Peace
James
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I was a member of several evangelical Protestant churches in my life before becoming Catholic at age 47. In three of those churches, cases of abuse took place. One of those situations involved repeated rape of a child by a church staff member.

My husband and I were dating, and at age 16, we attended a youth conference during which we personally witnessed sexual impropriety between a minister and several teenagers. We reported what we had seen, and the pastor was fired. I don’t believe any charges were brought.

I think that this is a “tip of the iceberg”. I’m sure that many other Protestant churches have experienced abuse of children and teenagers by adults, but the reports have never come to light and probably never will.

In the evangelical Protestant churches, pastors and church workers are asked to leave, and they usually are never seen again and the whole thing is hushed up and those who insist on talking about it are shunned or asked to leave, too. The abusers go into secular careers.

Here is a link to one of the saddest cases in recent times, the infamous Mamou case: christianitytoday.com/ct/1998/april27/8t5016.html

There have been books written about this case.

We were part of this denomination for ten years, and one of our biggest objections to this denom was the practice of missionaries sending their children away for boarding school at age 6. Many missionaries told us that the practice was harmless and that they loved being in boarding school. But we insisted that this was not the way God intended for parents to raise their children. It was only recently, in the late 1990s, that this whole thing blew up in the face of the C & MA. We personally suspect that there are probably many other incidents that still haven’t come to light. At least the C&MA has made a very heartfelt and public apology and has committed to helping anyone who was damaged by the abuse. (You’ll have to google around to find the apology; it might still be up on the official C&MA website.)
 
I think that Protestant ministers probably have a higher incidence of murder/attempted murder than the general population. Seriously…how often is there a story of a minister hiring a hitman to kill his wife so he can run off and marry his mistress? These pop up at least semi-annually.
 
PacoG said:
I think that Protestant ministers probably have a higher incidence of murder/attempted murder than the general population. Seriously…how often is there a story of a minister hiring a hitman to kill his wife so he can run off and marry his mistress? These pop up at least semi-annually.
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This is the kind of unsubtantiated comment that undermines legitimate conversation on such topics.
Look at what you’ve stated. That Protestant ministers have higher incidence of muerder than the general poplulation. You then point to a semi-annual timeframe.
Yet the “General Population” is committing murder daily. They may not hire hitmen to do it, but that is not the point of your actual accusation.
Finally you provide no link or statistic to substantiate your claim.

It should be noted as significant that the link provided above by Tietjen is from a protestant website which actually supports the notion that the abuse issue is not a “catholic” one but effects Christ’s “extended church”.
It would be interesting to see such a link to substantiate your claim.

Peace
James
 
This thread is about neither Liturgy nor Sacraments. It can only spin out of control from this point on…
 
Tietjen said:
reformation.com/CSA/allabuse.html

Also, here is an excerpt from a another article:
Originally Posted by stopbaptistpredators.org/alarmingnumbers.html
Insurance companies receive from Protestant churches each year about 260 reports involving allegations of sexual abuse committed against minors. This is LESS than the annual number of 228 abuse incidents reported against Catholic priests. That reality is particularly noteworthy because Catholics keep track of even “credible accusations,” which Southern Baptists don’t even bother to determine or keep records on.
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260 < 228 = :confused: Am I missing something.
 
I think it’s unproductive, if not dangerous, to begin comparing the level of reported abuse by members of the Church to what happens in Protestant communities. It can appear that we’re trying to deflect attention. And it’s as though we’re saying “well, if you think we’re bad, just look at …” Accept that we as members of the Church are and will remain a target of bad publicity and work to stop any real problems. But never think that doing the right thing will mean the end of the attacks.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
We your people join together to pray for your hand to deliver us from this horrible sin of child abuse. Send within our midst your Holy Spirit, that He may:
Bring comfort to victims. Help them to be healed from their experience. Let these events not take them from you.
Bring repentance and contrition to the guilty. Let them see the harm they have done, and strengthen them to go and sin no more.
Bring discernment to your people. Help us to avoid the temptation of viewing each other’s sins worse than our own, and recognize that these events wound your ministry regardless of where they happen.
Bring renewed honor to those who serve you in the clergy. Let your people recognize that the vast majority serve you and us with faith and dignity. Help the children see them as models to be emulated, not to be feared.
And bring strength and courage and strength to our leaders. Guide them to right decisions in all aspects of the operation of your Church. Strengthen particluarly Pope Benedict XVI, as it is his see and communion who most often must shoulder the criticism and hostility.
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Do these things, we pray, for your Church, and for the sake of your Son.
Amen
 
JonNC said:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We your people join together to pray for your hand to deliver us from this horrible sin of child abuse. Send within our midst your Holy Spirit, that He may:
Bring comfort to victims. Help them to be healed from their experience. Let these events not take them from you.
Bring repentance and contrition to the guilty. Let them see the harm they have done, and strengthen them to go and sin no more.
Bring discernment to your people. Help us to avoid the temptation of viewing each other’s sins worse than our own, and recognize that these events wound your ministry regardless of where they happen.
Bring renewed honor to those who serve you in the clergy. Let your people recognize that the vast majority serve you and us with faith and dignity. Help the children see them as models to be emulated, not to be feared.
And bring strength and courage and strength to our leaders. Guide them to right decisions in all aspects of the operation of your Church. Strengthen particluarly Pope Benedict XVI, as it is his see and communion who most often must shoulder the criticism and hostility.
Click to expand...
Amen :signofcross:
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Sean_from_Sarpy said:
I think it’s unproductive, if not dangerous, to begin comparing the level of reported abuse by members of the Church to what happens in Protestant communities. It can appear that we’re trying to deflect attention. And it’s as though we’re saying “well, if you think we’re bad, just look at …” Accept that we as members of the Church are and will remain a target of bad publicity and work to stop any real problems. But never think that doing the right thing will mean the end of the attacks.
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I agree, I was just curious about where the poster had found their information. I have a protestant friend who constantly gives me grief for being Catholic and who reminds me all the time about the abuses in the Church that have been so focused on in the media lately. My friend is under the impression that it is solely a Catholic priest problem (which it most definitely is not) and I was looking for valid information that could show that these abuses are not only in the Catholic Church. Protestant pastors and Catholic priests are all human and we all sin.
 
justamoose89 said:
I agree, I was just curious about where the poster had found their information. I have a protestant friend who constantly gives me grief for being Catholic and who reminds me all the time about the abuses in the Church that have been so focused on in the media lately. My friend is under the impression that it is solely a Catholic priest problem (which it most definitely is not) and I was looking for valid information that could show that these abuses are not only in the Catholic Church. Protestant pastors and Catholic priests are all human and we all sin.
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I would inisist, if I were you, moose, that he find any reference anywhere that states that non-Catholic clergy don’t sin. I find your friend’s contention, at the very least, intellectually and factually dishonest.
In the last year in the area covered by our local tv news, there have been 2 incidences of this kind: one Catholic, one Protestant. All you friend needs to do is pay attention to the news. Eventually, sadly, evidence to proove your point will be reported.

Jon
 
JonNC said:
I would inisist, if I were you, moose, that he find any reference anywhere that states that non-Catholic clergy don’t sin. I find your friend’s contention, at the very least, intellectually and factually dishonest.
In the last year in the area covered by our local tv news, there have been 2 incidences of this kind: one Catholic, one Protestant. All you friend needs to do is pay attention to the news. Eventually, sadly, evidence to proove your point will be reported.

Jon
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I think that one of the things that anti-catholics will do in such a case is ignore it unless it is within their particular community. So a report of a priest on the news supports his anticatholic position and a report of another “protestant” would only apply if it was the “right kind” of protestant.
In other words, instead of looking at ALL the abuses among the various denominations they would only look at their own. They might say something like - Well there’s 200 reports among priests but only 2 among Baptists (if that is his particular community).

Fortunately such people are few but they do exist.

Peace
James
 
JonNC said:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We your people join together to pray for your hand to deliver us from this horrible sin of child abuse. Send within our midst your Holy Spirit, that He may:
Bring comfort to victims. Help them to be healed from their experience. Let these events not take them from you.
Bring repentance and contrition to the guilty. Let them see the harm they have done, and strengthen them to go and sin no more.
Bring discernment to your people. Help us to avoid the temptation of viewing each other’s sins worse than our own, and recognize that these events wound your ministry regardless of where they happen.
Bring renewed honor to those who serve you in the clergy. Let your people recognize that the vast majority serve you and us with faith and dignity. Help the children see them as models to be emulated, not to be feared.
And bring strength and courage and strength to our leaders. Guide them to right decisions in all aspects of the operation of your Church. Strengthen particluarly Pope Benedict XVI, as it is his see and communion who most often must shoulder the criticism and hostility.
Click to expand...
In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit…Amen
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