I can only wonder at times if the parade of sex abuse cases involving the Roman Catholic Church will ever end. Personally, I suspect not for the simple reason that the Church's own bizarre obsession with sexual matters and the screwed up way in which Catholic priests are taught about the supposed evil (or is it the attractions of) sex, pretty much guarantee that priests will never be individuals who have had a normal sexual development, especially those roped into the high school seminary programs. Compounding the problem are the disingenuous, self-serving, and self-adoring members of the Church hierarchy (like Cardinal Pell pictured at left) who believe they are answerable to no one. The first story comes from Australia via ABC News in the wake of the Nazi Pope's visit and involves the criminal conviction of a priest who sexually molested seven students in a boy's school; Here are a few highlights:*
Seven former students of a boy's school in Engadine in Sydney's south accused Father Paul Evans of rape and sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty, telling the court he hugged and comforted the boys but did not touch them in a sexual way. Today, a jury found him guilty of 18 offences.
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Outside the court, one of his victims said when he told the police about the abuse as a teenager he had been laughed at. He said he was relieved to be recognised by the legal system after so many years.
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No matter how much the Church or Pope tries to down play the problem, the truth is that it is a world wide problem that the hierarchy knew about and did its utmost to cover up. Next, there's the reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald about a sexual abuse victim's struggle to gain a meeting with members of the hierarchy:
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A former Catholic school student says he was sexually abused by a priest and was "gut wrenched" to discover a number of classmates had also been abused. The man told ABC 702 radio this morning that he had made at least 50 attempts to speak with Cardinal Pell and World Youth Day spokesman Bishop Anthony Fisher, since four other people in his class also claimed to be abused by the same priest.
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Paul alleges he was fondled and molested by the priest as a young student at a Brisbane Catholic school in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He said he attempted to tell people about his alleged abuse at the time, but was rebuffed on each occasion.
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And last ironically, there's this story also from the Sydney Morning Herald which shows how little the Church actually cares about protecting children and youth from sexual predator priests. Seems the Church doesn't have the money to support a treatment center for sexually abusive priests. Seems a bit odd in light of the palatial splendor in which the Pope and "princes of the church" like Cardinal Pell live their posh and protected lives. I wonder, how much did it cost the Church to have Benedict XVI make his trip to Australia? More than the $200,000 to keep the treatment center open? Do you want to vomit yet? Here are some highlights:
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THE Catholic Church's national sexual abuse assessment and treatment facility this month consists of one volunteer in Kincumber on a mobile phone. Encompass, which treated more than 1100 Catholic clergy for psychosexual and other mental health issues, closed on June 30 after the church hierarchy decided against spending $200,000 a year to keep it going. In the meantime, a former board member, Timothy O'Hearn has been left to answer Encompass's phone, referring church employees with mental health issues to private treatment.
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Opened in 1997 by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes, Encompass treated more than 1100 people, 250 of them in an intensive six-month residential psychosexual program, according to its final newsletter.
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But staff were rebuffed when they asked for $200,000 a year to keep the service going, several sources have told the Herald. One former staff member, who requested anonymity, said it was "a tragedy" for offenders and victims of sexual abuse. "If we can spend that much money to have the Pope come out, what is $200,000 a year?" the former staffer said. "The priests would be rejoicing that Encompass has closed, as they are in total denial."
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As I have said before, anyone who believes the hierarchy is sorry for the sex abuse scandal is mistaken and/or a fool. The ONLY sorrow is that the Church got caught and exposed as a disingenuous old whore of an institution. The corruption within the hierarchy knows no national or geographic boundaries.
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