The news about the number of priests who have indulged in sexual activity with children is very hard to accept.
But I fear it is true....some of us did.
As a priest myself I am shocked by the way other priests have used their authority to endanger those members of society they should be looking after. It is our job to care for the aged, the sick and the very young. But men who have achieved major positions in the church have indulged their most basic instincts with small children.
I am glad it’s all being played out in the full glare of light...the secrecy that has kept it all hidden for years.
It’s not just the Roman church either...we are in no position to feel smug in the C of E.
When I first arrived in my present parish I was asked to go through the books kept in the church safe to look for a specific name.
I was able to reassure the diocese that the person had never taken services here.
The present situation is the Roman church facing up to what its priests have done in the past.
It is very very sad.
And it’s all too easy for me to make the obvious comment about an all male priesthood.
Men who are tempted by small children in a sexual way are not going to change . They just have to learn to channel those urges in a way that hurts no one.
But I do feel that allowing females into the Catholic priesthood would help.
As we work with our colleagues it would be difficult to hide in most parishes...
Apart from the really wicked ones, women mostly don’t tamper with children.
Rose West is an obvious exception...
There are always going to be people who take advantage of the young or weak...
To find them in the priesthood is shattering...
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1 comment:
Sadly such abuse, not just sexual, but also physical and mental isn't that uncommon, in any sphere of society, including some families, but to find it among the Clergy is shocking, because they are God's consecrated servants, coming from the community, charged with the "Cure of Souls".
But not just Clergy are involved. Recent cases have highlighted those in the consecrated religious life and lay people working with them have also been involved, both nuns and monks. Ampleforth one such case as well as some Church Run childrens homes, once here in our own Diocese of Rochester, which caused a huge scandal a year or so ago, and is still rumbling on as those who were abused, continue to suffer the lasting effects of it.
I don't know that having more women in ministry changes things, but certainly, it makes male Clergy more aware of how people should be treated.
And a Roman Catholic Cardinal in Australia has been convicted and is likely to serve a prison sentence. Another one in the USA has been removed from the Priest Hood, but has escaped prosecution due to their "Statute of Limitations". At least in the UK, we are not limited in that way, and even a Bishop served a prison sentence a year or so ago.
But nothing can repair the harm done, but we can mitigate it, by taking claims seriously, dealing with them swiftly, by referring to appropriate services (Police and Social) and removing offenders from any sort of ministry, life long, whether or not they are prosecuted.
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