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Sexual abuse
For years there have been widespread reports about sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy. We expect more from our clergy and do not intend to minimize the gravity of their actions. The ones that are guilty will be punished.
On the other hand singling them out is unfair and dangerous. Abuses by others are rarely reported and may never be stopped or punished.
Boston Victims Bask In Misery
January 5, 2012 -- catholicleague.org
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a front-page story in today’s Boston Globe on alleged victims of priestly sexual abuse who are speaking up on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Globe’s series on the scandal in the Boston Archdiocese:
Many Catholics that I have spoken to, including the clergy, have grown weary of those who claim they were victimized by a priest decades ago and are still not satisfied with the Church’s response. No matter what the Church does—doling out millions, providing endless counseling and therapy, mandating training sessions for every employee to guard against abuse—it’s never enough. It’s time for some straight talk: these people don’t want to move on, and that’s because they have too much invested in maintaining their victim status.
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It Is A Matter Of Justice!
March 26, 2011 -- abyssum
It is a matter of justice, the disciplining of priests accused of sexual misconduct with an adult, but unfortunately grave injustice is frequently done to individual priests and to the catholic priesthood by individual bishops and religious superiors.
The public controversy over the announcement of the accusations against Father John Corapi, SOLT, and his suspension from exercising his priestly ministry offers an opportunity to reflect on the flawed procedure apparently being followed in too many dioceses of the United States these days in the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct not involving minors. The procedure is flawed because it inflicts grave injustice on the priest and serves as a deterrent to young men thinking of offering themselves as candidates for the priesthood.
The investigation may take days or months or years to complete. In the meantime the priest's reputation is effectively destroyed and perhaps he is 'thrown out on the street' with no means of support. …
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August .9, 2010 -- William Oddie -- Catholic Herald
Now we have real evidence - sexual abuse is not a 'Catholic problem'
But we still have a fight ahead: the media are out to get us
..... actually, according to Dr Thomas Plante of Stanford University and Santa Clara University, "available research suggests that approximately two to five per cent of priests have had a sexual experience with a minor" which "is lower than the general adult male population" - in which the percentage of those who have interfered with minors "is best estimated to be closer to eight per cent". In other words, children who have anything to do with priests are between 1.6 and four times LESS likely to be abused by them than by anyone else.
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July 22, 2010 -- (CNA)
Abuse scandal rooted in homosexuality, not pedophilia, says Catholic League president
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, spoke out in an article on the Washington Post's website on Thursday, defending his assertion that the widespread perception of a "pedophilia crisis in the Catholic Church" is not supported by data and research. The more significant problem, Donohue argued, is the incidence of homosexuality among priests.
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July 2, 2010 -- Standard Newswire
New York Times Tries to Tag Pope -- Again
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on today's front-page article on Pope Benedict XVI:
The purpose of this story is to do what the Times failed to do in March: blame the pope for the sexual abuse scandal. It failed again.
We are told that when Joseph Ratzinger (now the pope) was in charge of the Office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had authority over sex abuse cases, but never exercised it. It cites as evidence some old instructions dating back to 1922 that Australian Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson "stumbled across" when he was a student in the early 1990s. When he mentioned this 10 years ago at a Vatican meeting, "few people in the room had any idea what [he] was talking about." In other words, there is no proof that even Ratzinger knew of this alleged authority.
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May 7, 2010 -- Catholic News Agency
CBS / N.Y. Times poll shows increase in Catholics' approval of Pope Benedict
New York City, N.Y., May 6, 2010 / 08:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Most churchgoing Catholics say their feelings about the Church are unaffected by the Vatican's handling of recent child sex abuse reports. Among all Catholics, more have a favorable opinion of Pope Benedict XVI now than they did in March. They tend to believe the media reports are blown out of proportion and harder on the Church than others.
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April 28, 2010
New York Times acknowledges: lawyer steered coverage of abuse story
In a profile of Jeffrey Anderson, the New York Times reveals that the lawyer who is attempting to bring suit against the Vatican was successful in steering the Times news coverage toward his case.
Referring to Anderson's involvement in the case of Father Lawrence Murphy, the Times story notes that the aggressive trial lawyer was a main source for a front-page report critical of Pope Benedict:
The New York Times was working on a different article last month when a reporter contacted Mr. Anderson. He provided documents about the Murphy case describing how efforts by Wisconsin church officials to subject Father Murphy to a canonical trial and remove him from the priesthood were halted after he wrote a letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, asking for a cessation of the trial.
The Times report also quoted Jeffrey Lena, an attorney representing the Vatican in American courts, who observed that Anderson had courted publicity to favor his lawsuits. "It shows how you can both create a media frenzy, and then capitalize on it," Lena said.
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April 13, 2010
USA Swimming President Apologizes for Sex Molestation of Swimmers
Outrage over the relevation of 30 years of sexual abuse of swimmers by certain swim coaches around the country has prompted the head of USA Swimming to make a public apology to swimmers and parents nationwide. Chuck Wielgus, president of USA Swimming has given an interview with ABC News' Brian Ross, who has conducted the investigation of dozens of sexual molestation claims by swimmers. Wielgus has also posted a public letter on the USA Swimming website in which he promises to set up a sexual abuse hotline for swimmers , better background checks for potential coaches and a "blacklist" of all coaches who have been "banned for life" from USA Swimming for molestation of swimmers.
http://www.uncoverage.net/2010/04/sexual-abuse-by-coaches-in-usa-swim-program/
Apr. 9, 2010 -- Megan Chuchmach and Avni Patel
ABC News Investigation: 36 USA Swimming coaches banned for life
In a sex abuse scandal that some victims compare to what happened in the Catholic Church, at least 36 swimming coaches have been banned for life by the USA Swimming organization over the last 10 years because of sexual misconduct with teenagers they coached.
The coaches have molested, fondled and abused dozens of swimmers, according to court records and interviews conducted by ABC News for reports Friday on "World News with Diane Sawyer" and "20/20."
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March 19, 2010 -- Brooke Donald - AP
Olympic swimmer speaks out on sex abuse lawsuit
The governing body of U.S. competitive swimming hasn't done enough to address widespread sexual abuse against young girls at swim clubs across the country, an Olympic gold medalist said Friday.
Deena Deardurff Schmidt, a 1972 Olympic champion swimmer, said as she trained in the 1960s, she was repeatedly molested over a four year period by her coach. Despite telling officials at USA Swimming years later, she said, the coach - whom she wouldn't name - went on to train more young swimmers and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
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December 07, 2009 -- news.com
Swimming sex abuse allegations
A strike force set up to investigate allegations against the late coach Terry Buck was mysteriously wound up. Source: The Daily Telegraph
* Abuse 'spanned 12 Olympic Games'
* Investigation mysteriously closed down
* Allegations against late coach Terry Buck
AN OLYMPIC medallist has blown the lid on what he calls "child sex abuse cover-up" at the highest levels of Australian swimming which spanned 12 Olympic Games.
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October 21, 2007 Martha Irvine and Robert Tanner - AP
Sexual misconduct plagues U.S. schools during five year period
An Associated Press investigation found more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions from bizarre to sadistic.
The seven-month investigation found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, voluntarily surrendered or limited from 2001 through 2005 following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Young people were the victims in at least 1,801 of the cases, and more than 80 percent of those were students. More than half the educators who were punished by their states also were convicted of crimes related to the misconduct.
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March 24, 2006 -- Whistleblower Magazine
Is there a Debra LaFave in your child's school?
'PREDATORS' exposes today's hidden epidemic of teacher-student sex
The seemingly endless stream of reports of female school teachers having sex with their underage male students - most recently the stunning dismissal of charges against Debra LaFave who admitted having sex with a 14-year-old student - is one of today's most sensational news stories.
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June 2004 -- Charol Shakeshaft
The U.S. Department of Education commissioned an in-depth study of sexual misconduct by educators.
According to the study millions of children might be victims of sexual misconduct by teachers or other public school employees.
According to the author, Charol Shakeshaft the figures suggest "the physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests."
See:
Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature
By Charol Shakeshaft
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Education
Office of the Under Secretary Policy and Program Studies Service
Hofstra University and Interactive, Inc. Huntington, N.Y.
Report
The author
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Childhelp National Headquarters:
Children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Over 3 million reports of child abuse are made every year in the United States; however, those reports can include multiple children. In 2007, approximately 5.8 million children were involved in an estimated 3.2 million child abuse reports and allegations.
• A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
• Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
• It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
• 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.
• Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
• 31% percent of women in prison in the United States were abused as children.
• Over 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centers report being abused or neglected as a child.
• About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
• About 80% of 21 year old that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
• The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2007 is $104 billion.
• Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy.
• Abused teens are 3 times less likely to practice safe sex, putting them at greater risk for STDs.
Childhelp National Headquarters:
15757 N. 78th Street, Ste B
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
(480) 922-8212
Website
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