CatholicVoteAction.org

At Mass today, we were informed that the State House in Michigan is holding hearings next week on a bill to amend the statute of limitations for allegations of criminal sexual abuse in non-profit organizations. There is no time limit regarding the allegations. Government institutions (e.g. public schools) are exempt. The unlimited statute of limitations would be open for two years.

Why does this bill exempt public institutions?

Perhaps the timeline can reach back a little further.
” the spiritual and physical penalties declared by the 4th Century architect of Eastern monasticism, St. Basil of Cesarea [322-379 AD], for the cleric or monk caught making sexual advances [kissing] or sexually molesting young boys or men. The convicted offender was to be whipped in public, deprived of his tonsure [head shaven], bound in chains and imprisoned for six months, after which he was to be contained in a separate cell and ordered to undergo severe penances and prayer vigils to expedite his sins under the watchful eye of an elder spiritual brother. His diet was that of water and barley bread—–the fodder of animals. Outside his cell, while engaged in manual labor and moving about the monastery, the pederast monk was to be always monitored by two fellow monks to insure that he never again had any contact with young men or boys.”
I’ll bet one could trace the rise and fall of incidences of pedophilia in the church with the rise and fall of various societies.
Even back then they knew this was incurable.

No offense Thomas, but I do not believe your timeline goes back far enough.
I’ve been reading Liber Gomorrah by Saint Peter Damian written in the tenth century.
St. Damian had a lot to say about clergy who were pederasts at that time. I believe there was a Pope in the third or fourth century who also had much to say on the issue.
So this problem is an ancient one and will not be corrected that easily.

I really don’t compare public schools to our Church to be a measuring stick. Neither does the world for that mater. Even though the world hates the Church, they hold it to a higher standard. When there is crime within the Church, especially as terrible as child abuse, the world gets furious. Even those who hate the Church, and Christianity as a whole put some level of hope in it to be an example for humanity. Strange as it sounds that is a big reason for why their anger towards us is over and above that of a public school.

Marv: “Abortion will only end when (something happens that) will only occur when (something happens that) can not occur in a world where women are born and are told that they are not the owners of their own bodies.”
‘Owners of their own bodies’ = typical code phrase for ‘abortion is OK’
So abortion will only end when all women believe that abortion is OK ?!?!?

Hi, Marv!

When I said to focus on the VICTIM, I was talking about victims of sexual abuse which is the topic of this thread. (But, glad to respond to your comment about abortion.)

Hi, Marv!

You said, “Abortion will never end by making abortion illegal.” Ditto for other trespasses against others. But the legality of an activity has an effect on its numbers. You’re not suggesting we do away with all laws to protect the innocent because they aren’t 100% effective, are you??

Diane
Assuming that you mean the victim is the fetus/child within, that has always been my focus. Abortion will never end by making abortion illegal. We have past data on that. Abortion will only end when unwanted pregnancies are no longer occurring. This will only occur when we bring up our children in a way that they have high self-esteem (self-love.) This can not occur in a world where women are born and are told that they are not the owners of their own bodies. This will not occur in a world where girls are told that their only purpose in life is to be a loving mother and wife.

Fortunately, the times are changing and women are now being recognized as equal to men and not less than men. This has taken thousands of years to get to.

Hi, Marv!

Focus on the VICTIMS … if you really care about them! Obsessing about one aspect, at the expense of the whole picture, is not helpful to THEM! It’s a bigger problem and danger than that!

What has any of this got to do with the cover-up by the Catholic Church? Answer: nothing. Your attempt to cover-up the cover-up is not surprising.

@Marv:
“Have any studies been done showing how many abuses have been covered-up by the Catholic Hierarchy versus by Public Schools? ”
Google public schools and the term “pass the trash”.
Here’s one example:
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf/2008/02/schools_cut_secret_deals_with.html

For Marv,

“The American Medical Association found in 1986 that one in four girls, and one in eight boys, are sexually abused in or out of school before the age of 18. Two years later, a study included in The Handbook on Sexual Abuse of Children, reported that one in four girls, and one in six boys, is sexually abused by age 18.[xxix] It was reported in 1991 that 17.7 percent of males who graduated from high school, and 82.2 percent of females, reported sexual harassment by faculty or staff during their years in school. Fully 13.5 percent said they had sexual intercourse with their teacher.[xxx]

In New York City alone, at least one child is sexually abused by a school employee every day. One study concluded that more than 60 percent of employees accused of sexual abuse in the New York City schools were transferred to desk jobs at district offices located inside the schools. Most of these teachers are tenured and 40 percent of those transferred are repeat offenders. They call it “passing the garbage” in the schools. One reason why this exists is due to efforts by the United Federation of Teachers to protect teachers at the expense of children.[xxxi] Another is the fact that teachers accused of sexual misconduct cannot be fired under New York State law.[xxxii]

One of the nation’s foremost authorities on the subject of the sexual abuse of minors in public schools is Hofstra University professor Charol Shakeshaft. In 1994, Shakeshaft and Audrey Cohan did a study of 225 cases of educator sexual abuse in New York City. Their findings are astounding.

All of the accused admitted sexual abuse of a student, but none of the abusers was reported to the authorities, and only 1 percent lost their license to teach. Only 35 percent suffered negative consequences of any kind, and 39 percent chose to leave their school district, most with positive recommendations. Some were even given an early retirement package.[xxxiii]

Moving molesting teachers from school district to school district is a common phenomenon. And in only 1 percent of the cases do superintendents notify the new school district.[xxxiv] According to Diana Jean Schemo, the term “passing the trash” is the preferred jargon among educators.[xxxv]

Shakeshaft has also determined that 15 percent of all students have experienced some kind of sexual misconduct by a teacher between kindergarten and 12th grade; the behaviors range from touching to forced penetration.[xxxvi] She and Cohan also found that up to 5 percent of teachers sexually abuse children.[xxxvii] Shakeshaft will soon be ready to release the findings of a vast study undertaken for the Planning and Evaluation Service Office of the Undersecretary, U.S. Department of Education, titled, “Educator Sexual Misconduct with Students: A Synthesis of Existing Literature on Prevalence in Connection with the Design of a National Analysis.””

Another point to consider – the priests represent the Church. They are the shepherds, the teachers of our faith. Our faith has some very specific teachings regarding sexuality. To have our leaders fail in such a way is more scandalous than to have this happen in the public schools. The public schools don’t claim to be passing on a moral teaching to the young. Their mission is quite different from the mission of the Church, so even though sexual abuse under either circumstance is horrible, in the case of the priests it is much worse.