> -----Original Message----- > From: samcfug [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 7:15 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: CF-Community: Digest every 6 hours
> Pointing the finger at the media is not really where the > blame lies. I doubt > this "problem" will go away, until a few Attorney Generals > bring charges against > the Bishops for the felony crime of "Misprision of a felony" > This is defined > as concealing or failing to report to the proper authorities > a felony offense. In defense of Mass. The Church is exempted > from this offense, however most states do not exempt the church. The media didn't create the problem - but the media is exploiting it for ratings without thought as to their collective action. My case is for media responsibility. > In my area, the church is finding it increasingly difficult > to even recruit alter-boys, as parents are refusing to allow > their children to participate in this age-old tradition, out of fear. Exactly - and this is a fear that I feel is completely unfounded and media driven. More specifically it's the _level_ of fear that's unfounded: the chances of any child getting abused is not increased by participation in the church. (Most of our greatest fears are irrational to begin with - more people being afraid to fly rather than drive when driving is much more dangerous is the classic example). > I remain confident in my belief that only the surface has > been scratched by some > of the victims coming forward. I believe that there are > many more who will > never come forward to report offenses against them. I agree. Although any study measuring the unknown is suspect it's pretty clear that many, perhaps most, victims of sexual crime, especially child molestation will never come forward. In cases like this it seems clear that many actual victims will remain quiet. However there's also the opposite side of that coin: many false claims will also be raised. This has happened for years with both rape and with child abuse. We're alreay seeing cases of falsely accused priests and I expect (many) more. "Recovered memory" cases are, more and more often, being exposed as nothing more than theraputic manipulation. There are many cases of fantasy prone or attention hungry individuals that also make false claims. The more sensational a circumstance is, the more attention that is given it, the more likely it is to attract such false claims. In my opinion the media aspect of the church scandal has passed (or will very soon pass) the point of simple information/reporting. It's become a ratings engine and as such the worst it sounds the better, for the media outlets, it is. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
