Just a quickie:
Its impossible to estimate the incidence of child rape in the priesthood and compare it with the general population. There are no figures for either. Searches produce results that stagger from 0.3% of priests to 10% of priests. It's similar for the general population. And the problem is compounded by women raping children - still a very dark and uncounted area. Two things are certain: a: All individuals in authority will exploit at some level. And absolute authority will lend to absolute abuse. Witness all the housemaids in the Gulf. b: The incidence of child abuse is never zero. (Except, it seems, in the Indian church!) Poor people are not more prone to abusing children though one might argue, as Ashley has done, that they have less opportunity to indulge in other activities such as movies etc etc. Again, no figures. We cannot therefore focus on celibacy, poverty, isolation or anything such. What we must focus on is the fact that the Church MUST have transparent, agreed, policies to deal with all allegations - and most importantly, that alleged victims are not locked into the church. There MUST be a way out. This upsets me most, because no matter how many times I ask the church in India about these policies, I get no reply. The counselling work we are about to begin is great but it's the second stage not the first. The first thing we need is an independent way for victims to make contact without fear and prejudice. That in itself will solve half the problem because inappropriate authority is undermined. Thanks [email protected] Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 21:55:53 -0700 From: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SALIGAONET] Fw: Your Priests Need Your Prayers To: [email protected] No priest is above the state law, he is subjected to the same law of the land where he lives just like all other residents, unless he is there as a diplomat with immunity. The civil authorities can charge and penalise him for any civil/criminal activity, from a speeding/parking ticket right upto murder. Quentin From: Patricia Nazareth <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, May 20, 2010 8:26:56 PM Subject: Re: [SALIGAONET] Fw: Your Priests Need Your Prayers Unlike other members of society who can be tried and found/not found guilty, no criminal or civil charges can be pressed against priests. I'm not aware of any recent changes to this. This is what is making everyone so mad. I am all for the vote that priests should be tried just like everyone else. What makes them so different from the rest of us that they should be considered above the law?! And, of course, if found guilty, should be subjected to the same punishments that anyone else (who does not have the privilege of being a priest) would be subjected to. -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active! _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?id=60969 -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active!
