Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
I think one difference is that while most institutions (public, private, religious, whatever) try to weed out this kind of thing, reduce the harm, and give up the perpetrators to justice, the Catholic Church has employed strategies that really give the wrong impression.. settling out of court, moving priests around and even threatening victims and their families with excommunication if they speak out. Rather than being transparent and eager to weed out the offenders, they are (or were anyway) more worried about the public perception of the Catholic Church than the were about the actual harm being done.
Any organization where kids congregate is going to attract these kinds of people, religious or not.
But to try to stop shining a light on one problem because there are others is kind of silly; it's not like you can do only one or the other.
If I were a Catholic I would have been outraged when I found out about the actions and attitudes the Church had in this case.
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You are wrong to pretend that the Catholic church has been alone in trying to cover up sexual abuse. I've known 2(maybe3) people who experienced sexual abuse by a priest. However I'm sure I could count over 20 people I've known who was abused by a family member. I'd say 80 to 90% of these victims never have brought charges against their abuser. Most did tell another family member at some point and were told to be quiet or even called an outright liar. Society is changing very slowly. So seemingly is the Catholic church.