Why doesn't the church get criticised when a priest's found guilty of child abuse?

Question

Why doesn't the church get criticised when a priest's found guilty of child abuse?

Answer 1

The catholic church is paying millions in compensation for the victims of the sexual crimes of their priests alone and now we have another one who is said to have sexually abused eight or more!!

The church must play a far more rigorous and practical checking policy on their priests and if they cannot stamp it out then they should ensure that no priest is ever allowed to be alone with any person young, old, male or female!!

Answer 2

First of all to FETA, the RC church has NOT been historically associated with child sexual abuse.

I've said this many times before, what about school teachers, boy scout leaders, Ministers..or the father of a three year old who molests her!

If your Son steals something from a store because he lives in your house does that make you guilty of stealing to?

When the Church interviews potential men to join the Priesthood they have no way of knowing what's truly in that man's heart. The Pope is now aware of these crimes against children and is addressing them..what more do you want?

It doesn't excuse what happened, but at least now I don't see any more cover up going on.

Answer 3

of course they do! but there's alreadt so much criticism.. and it's happened so many times, that it just gets washed up with the rest of the abuse.

Go look in R&S you'll see what i mean

Answer 4

The Church is constantly criticised when a Priest is found guilty (and sometimes even before he found guilty) of child abuse.  

Answer 5

The party-line regarding these incidents is: don't blame the church, blame the individual. For every sick pervert masquerading as a representative of God, I'm sure there are thousands of priests who are not kiddy-fiddling.

I would like the church to be more proactive in punishing and criticising these shameful individuals.  

Answer 6

Because the church does not advocate child abuse - it's like condemning all Muslims for the extreme views of a few.

Put it this way - it might be that paedophiles turn to the church either because they believe that religion will help them with their tendencies or because they think they will be in an environment that enables them to reach children.

The church doesn't appoint paedophiles as priests, knowingly.  As far as I know.

Answer 7

They do but is not published. Also because people who hate Christianity would rather drag up the Crusades! Just look on R&S.

Answer 8

because they are all in it together. they make me sick.

Answer 9

To be fair here in Ireland the Catholic Church has had plenty of stick for years because of it's covering up and shifting about of abusive Priests and teachers in their schools.Indeed,to the extent it changed the 'hold' it had on Irish life.I feel the Church was criminally negligent and should have been brought to book TBH.Lots of good Priests suffered because of the Church's involvement in the cover up but no one suffered as horrendously as the victims.

Everyone should read the aptly named book 'Breaking The Silence' by Donegal garda Martin Ridge.

Martin Ridge was approaching retirement after a long career with An Garda Síochána. Posted to a quiet corner of Co. Donegal, he found himself investigating one of the most horrific series of child s*x abuse cases in Ireland.

At Christmas 1997 a local priest Fr Eugene Greene reported to the Gardaí that a man had tried to blackmail him. His hubris set in motion a Garda investigation which revealed him as a serial child s*x abuser for decades. As word of the investigation spread, 26 men came forward. Most were from the tiny Gaeltacht parish of Gort an Choirce. All had been abused by Greene as children.

Soon after, another man came forward to say that he had been sexually abused by local schoolteacher Denis McGinley. As Ridge dug deeper, he discovered that McGinley had been systematically abusing children in his classroom for decades. He had at least 50 victims.

The Greene and McGinley cases both involved the Catholic Church. Greene was a priest, and McGinley a teacher in a Catholic school answerable to religious managers. As Ridge investigated, he discovered that the Church knew about the abuse, but ignored the problem. Breaking the Silence is a brilliantly written account of the Garda investigation that brought two serial and unrepentant abusers to justice.

I know Martin.He's a fine man.

Answer 10

The church should only be critised if they covered it up, or they allowed someone with prior convictions to become a priest.  

If they have fully co-operated and helped to bring the perputrator to justice then havent they done some good?

Answer 11

They do but the church closes ranks, a bunch of hypocrites all.

Answer 12

Should a entire school district be criticized if one teacher is found guilty of child abuse?

Answer 13

People are often afraid to criticize something connected to God, heresy gets you sent to h**l.  Sadly it prevents open dialog.  For example the fact that celibacy for priest used to be voluntary or required before certain religious observances (http://www.arthurstreet.com/celibacy1993... not a permanent requirement.  It was instated in large part to prevent the children of priest from laying claim to church property, just another method the Catholic church (along with fear) uses to establish and maintain control over it's members.  

Before celibacy became a requirement, a law was passed to declare priests' wives concubines and their children illegitimate.  Apparently that wasn't good enough.

There are many powerful and beautiful things about Catholicism, but they are overshadowed by the church's prime motivation to be all powerful and control it's members.

Answer 14

because they are powerful and always look after their own...as they say "power always corrupts"

Answer 15

Bribes to stop bad press?

Answer 16

It does - the church has historically been associated with child abuse.

Answer 17

it is not the church that is doing the abusing.