Institutional Epidemic Pedophilia: (pope)

[ensho]

http://blog.buzzflash.com/contributors/3105


Institutional Epidemic Pedophilia: A Survivor of Church Sexual Abuse Responds to Pope Benedict's Vow Not to "be Intimidated"


This weekend, BuzzFlash posted a statement by a Boston survivor of church sexual abuse as a child, Gary Bergeron, in response to the recent revelations of international cases of large scale pedophilia by priests and inaction by Pope Benedict. Gary told BuzzFlash, in a call we made to confirm authorship, that he was not looking toward the past; he wanted the Vatican to sincerely commit and take action to prevent any child from experiencing sexual abuse at the hands of priests now and in the future. On Monday, Gary E-Mailed BuzzFlash his response to Pope Benedict's Palm Sunday remarks concerning the latest outbreak of child sexual abuse revelations crossing several countries.

Yesterday, Pope Benedict stated that he “Will not be intimidated…” by accusations against the Vatican, by what he calls “Petty gossip…” related to the clerical sex abuse crisis. These comments are grave reminders of the lack of understanding that the leader of the Catholic Church continues to have surrounding childhood sexual abuse by clergy.

Offensive, would be an understatement to describe yesterday’s comments. It is beyond belief that words like “intimidation” and “petty gossip” are being used today in defense of the most important issue continuing to face the Catholic Church. Intimidation and petty gossip are words that I and other survivors know well. These are words that were used to dismiss the stories of victims of childhood clergy abuse for decades. These remarks were used less than one week after Pope Benedict’s words of apology. Yesterday, in an effort to dismiss the words of his critics, Pope Benedict has dismissed his own words of apology.
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apparently the men at the vatican think they are above any law but their own.

can they get away with it this time too?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Like most despots, they think they are invulnerable

[appal_jack]

6. And the problem is even bigger than many still admit

While I in no way want to minimize the pain and suffering experienced by the victims of priest-pedophilia, I think that it's long past time to consider the whole Catholic approach to sexuality. It's ALL abusive. Catholicism continues to preach that sexuality is 'impure,' 'sinful,' and basically only tolerable within the confines of a marriage and for the express purpose of procreation. Developing a healthy approach to sexuality is very difficult, if not impossible, within this framework. Catholics are forced to choose between defying their 'own' faith, or functioning within a twisted and mal-adaptive system.

Additionally, if ALL sexuality is impure, sinful, and suspect, then the Church hierarchy will inevitably minimize the actual sexual crimes of rape, pedophilia, and the like. What should be a shocking crime becomes folded into a continuum of impurity by these twisted priests and bishops.

I'm appal_jack and I was (unfortunately) raised Catholic. And I say that it's long past time to indict the whole Catholic philosophy of sexuality. Though no priests ever laid hands on me (that I can recall), I feel I still carry scars from the bullshit that nuns and priests sent my way during my 'education,' and those scars have reduced my ability to develop healthy adult relationships. Pedophilia by priests is by far the worst symptom of Catholic approaches to sexuality, but it is only one part of the disease.

-app

[Skidmore]

2. It goes beyond the Catholic Church.

Pedophilia was only treated as a crime in very recent history. Children, like women, were chattel property until well into the last century, especially when incest was the act in question. Even today, children are returned to homes in which they were abused because preserving the family is the goal of social policy. Children lack political voices and policies to protect them are only made when some egregious crime is committed against one of them and loss of life or severe injury occurs.

Personally, I believe that churches do not deserve special protections under the law. Churches are bastions of power and wealth and they are political actors. They need to contribute something besides division and corruption to the society, and to pay for the consequences of their impact.

[ensho]

3. kick

nt

[damntexdem]

4. Special veneration of Saint Nambla.

;-)

[PufPuf23]

5. Each and every clergy identified as a molester pedophile

should have been reported to the legal authority of jurisdiction in a timely manner and not handled internal to the church.

This is obvious and makes the religious institution (and specific individuals implementing the internal policy) complicit in the crimes.