Comments on: Foley: “If I were one of these sickos…” http://raincoaster.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/ 49 degrees latitude, 360 degrees attitude! Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:27:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: raincoaster http://raincoaster.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7275 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 02:35:35 +0000 http://raincoaster.wordpress.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7275 Talk, talk. You might as well just fold; Catholic priests are responsible for more convictions for child molestation than ALL other Christian clergy combined.

]]> By: Metro http://raincoaster.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7172 Sat, 07 Oct 2006 04:20:03 +0000 http://raincoaster.wordpress.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7172 Thanks for the figures. I’d respond but Mme an I just got back from a very pleasant wine tasting, and I have to be up at oh-dark-stoopid.

Peace, baby.

]]> By: raincoaster http://raincoaster.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7170 Sat, 07 Oct 2006 00:18:35 +0000 http://raincoaster.wordpress.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7170 Well, I’ve got some numbers for you. In terms of clergy abusing children, the Catholic Church is way ahead of any other denomination, with more than 700 priests removed for this reason since January, 2002. My reference for that is the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, here:
http://www.usccb.org/nrb/

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Protestant faiths report slightly higher absolute figures, reflecting the 70/30 ratio of Protestants to Catholics in the US as well as the greater willingness of Protestants to report such abuse, as they do not regard their ministers as anything close to the authority figures that Catholics view their priests.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0405/p01s01-ussc.html

The problem, Cobble says, is that churches are the perfect environment for sexual predators, because they have large numbers of children’s’ programs, a shortage of workers to lead them, and a culture of trust that is the essence of the organization.

Churches have been active since the early 1990s in addressing the problem, Cobble reports. More than 100,000 copies of a book he co-authored, “Reducing the risk of Child Sexual Abuse in Your Church” were sold.

And the CSM also reports that a disproportional number of convictions among Catholic priests relative to other clergy:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0321/p01s04-ussc.html

BOSTON – Despite the common perception that clergy who sexually assault children are almost never punished, more than 70 priests and ministers have been sent to prison for child molestation since 1985.
While this still represents a small percentage of the overall cases, the number of clergy put behind bars in recent years has been growing – as has the severity of the sentences.

A review of publicly reported convictions going back 17 years reveals that:

• At least 75 clergymen have been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, criminal child-sexual-abuse charges since the landmark Gilbert Gauthe case in Louisiana in 1985.

• About half of those – 38 – were Roman Catholic priests. The rest included Baptist ministers, Methodists, Pentecostals, Episcopal priests, and others.

• Many sentences were for 10 years or more, ranging from 30 days to life in prison.

“There’s been a definite effort to keep these convictions quiet and minimize them,” says Richard Sipe, author of “Sex, Priests, and Power” and a former Catholic priest.

]]> By: raincoaster http://raincoaster.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7167 Fri, 06 Oct 2006 23:24:11 +0000 http://raincoaster.wordpress.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7167 Metro, you are profoundly misunderstanding me. I am NOT claiming that celibacy makes a man more likely to molest; I am claiming that pederasts seek out positions where they won’t be expected to maintain heterosexual relationships, as you’ll see if you re-read the comment I posted. Statistics about heterosexual abuse are, as you agree, quite irrelevant. I suggest you buy more vegetables and less beer.

]]> By: Frontier Editor http://raincoaster.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7154 Fri, 06 Oct 2006 22:02:03 +0000 http://raincoaster.wordpress.com/2006/10/02/foley-if-i-were-one-of-these-sickos/#comment-7154 I think that, if one really did the research, one might find that Baptist ministers are probably no less likely than their more Roman and Canterburian counterparts to engage in such behavior. I agree with Metro – the core problem is that of intercepting pederasts/pedophiles before they enter any sort of environment suitable for their ‘interest.” The Catholic Church’s long-term handling of that situation is merely that of any large, hierarchical organization – conceal the bad PR. Iin that case, the Vatican’s behavior is no different and no more surprising than that of Congress.
And that alone is one off the best arguments against organized religion that I can present.

]]>