|Monseigneur Rauber, Cardinal Danneels, Monseigneur Vangheluwe and his sucessor Monseigneur Jozef De Kesel, both bishop of Bruges. Mgr. Vangheluwe is old-Bishop of Bruges, and was succeeded by Mgr. De Kesel after a case of child-abuse. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)|
The part I want to highlight is what Cephus had to say to those who complain that it is unfair for him to pick on clergy. As someone who addressed clergy abuse, I've certainly received this same complaint. It usually goes something like this: "People in many professions abuse children, so why do you focus on clergy as if it is somehow worse when they do it?" Well, because it is worse when they do it.
Cephus provides three reasons why it makes sense to consider clergy abuse as a special category:
- The clergy is taught to be respected across wide swaths of American life, parents teach their children to listen to, respect and obey their priests and ministers and to turn to them in moments of crisis, both religious and physical. True, this respect and obedience also extends to a select few other occupations like police, firefighters and teachers, but they do not share other detrimental aspects.
- The clergy has unfettered access to children at virtually all times. Parents trust and respect the clergy to do what is in their children’s best interests and have little problem leaving their children in the care of men of the cloth, even in situations that they’d be uncomfortable leaving them with other professions. Teachers may have some access to children, but usually only in controlled conditions and rarely in very private situations where abuse can occur.
- Finally, the clergy has a particular hold over the minds of children, whereas a teacher or a police officer can offer an earthly threat to a child should they disobey, a priest or a minister can offer a heavenly one. Clergy are often looked upon as being closer to God and thus, having in “in” with the almighty. A cop can out you in jail, a teacher can give you detention, many people look upon the clergy as people who can see to it you’re sent into eternal perdition. That’s a powerful incentive to not only comply with a minister’s wishes, no matter what they want to do, but also to keep quiet about the whole situation after the fact.
Those of us who cover clergy abuse from time-to-time would do well to highlight the aspects of religious doctrine that facilitate abuse and enable perpetrators to escape detection and punishment.
Subscribe to Atheist Revolution