Should we expect a Christian organization to protect children better than this?

[Tcg]

.
Some argue that sexual abuse takes place in many organizations and that we shouldn't expect Christian organizations to be any different. Recent evidence, however, reveals that one specific Christian organization has the worst record for sexual abuse of children outside of only the "circle of family and friends."

More than 200,000 children sexually abused by French Catholic clergy, landmark report finds

Presenting the findings of the investigation on Tuesday, Sauvé said children were more likely to be abused within Catholic Church settings than in state-run schools or in summer camps -- or in any setting other than the family.

"The Catholic Church is, after the circle of family and friends, the environment where the prevalence of abuses is the highest by a significant margin," Sauvé told a news conference.

The problem was systemic, and the sexual violence was not limited to "a few black sheep that strayed from the flock," Sauvé told CNN ahead of the report's publication. "When it was informed of abuses, [the Church] did not take the strict measures necessary to protect children from predators."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/05/europe/f ... index.html

Of course we know that the Catholic church is not the only Christian organization where both sexual abuse of children and its systematic cover-up have taken place. Both the JWs and Southern Baptists have been in the news lately with reports of both.

If the claim that Christianity leads to more moral living is true, should we expect this finding?

Should we expect a Christian organization to protect children better than this?


Tcg

[benchwarmer]

[Replying to Tcg in post #1]

Yes, we should expect a Christian organization to protect children better than this. If they aren't, it's just another data point that prayer, guidance from the Holy Spirit, and generally 'better' morals are all imaginary.

There are bad apples in every barrel, but one would think that a people that claim a direct connection to God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit would be much better and faster at weeding this kind of issue out. When the churches themselves are sweeping this stuff under the rug rather than immediately and publicly hanging the abusers out to dry one can no longer just say "it's only a few bad people".

[nobspeople]

.
Some argue that sexual abuse takes place in many organizations and that we shouldn't expect Christian organizations to be any different. Recent evidence, however, reveals that one specific Christian organization has the worst record for sexual abuse of children outside of only the "circle of family and friends."

More than 200,000 children sexually abused by French Catholic clergy, landmark report finds

Presenting the findings of the investigation on Tuesday, Sauvé said children were more likely to be abused within Catholic Church settings than in state-run schools or in summer camps -- or in any setting other than the family.

"The Catholic Church is, after the circle of family and friends, the environment where the prevalence of abuses is the highest by a significant margin," Sauvé told a news conference.

The problem was systemic, and the sexual violence was not limited to "a few black sheep that strayed from the flock," Sauvé told CNN ahead of the report's publication. "When it was informed of abuses, [the Church] did not take the strict measures necessary to protect children from predators."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/05/europe/f ... index.html

Of course we know that the Catholic church is not the only Christian organization where both sexual abuse of children and its systematic cover-up have taken place. Both the JWs and Southern Baptists have been in the news lately with reports of both.

If the claim that Christianity leads to more moral living is true, should we expect this finding?

Should we expect a Christian organization to protect children better than this?


Tcg

Of course. Not perfection, but much better than 'average'.

[Tcg]

Of course. Not perfection, but much better than 'average'.

And yet what we have is the worst of all. Not average, the worst.


Tcg

[nobspeople]

Of course. Not perfection, but much better than 'average'.

And yet what we have is the worst of all. Not average, the worst.


Tcg

This just came across my board this morning:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/nuns-raped-g ... 40545.html

[benchwarmer]

This just came across my board this morning:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/nuns-raped-g ... 40545.html

Sadly, this just isn't surprising anymore. The amount of destruction caused by various churches throughout history is a massive red flag that the god of those churches is either imaginary, absent, or doesn't care.

Sodom and Gomorrah were supposedly destroyed by God's wrath. Surely wiping out a few churches when necessary would have got the message across just as well.

[1213]

...
Should we expect a Christian organization to protect children better than this?

I think we should expect Christians, if they truly are disciples of Jesus, not abuse children for example because of this:

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
Matt. 18:6

It is sad that many Christians don’t seem to be loyal to Jesus.

[Tcg]

When the churches themselves are sweeping this stuff under the rug rather than immediately and publicly hanging the abusers out to dry one can no longer just say "it's only a few bad people".

Exactly. It is clear that these organizations are in fact encouraging child sexual abuse by protecting the abusers in their ranks. This is the exact opposite of what we should see especially when they are presented as the leaders of Christian morality.


Tcg

[Miles]

When the churches themselves are sweeping this stuff under the rug rather than immediately and publicly hanging the abusers out to dry one can no longer just say "it's only a few bad people".

Exactly. It is clear that these organizations are in fact encouraging child sexual abuse by protecting the abusers in their ranks. This is the exact opposite of what we should see especially when they are presented as the leaders of Christian morality.

So perhaps within real, down-to-earth Christian morality child sexual abuse simply isn't that serious, and maybe saying ten Hail Marys is all that's warranted.


.

[TRANSPONDER]

...
Should we expect a Christian organization to protect children better than this?

I think we should expect Christians, if they truly are disciples of Jesus, not abuse children for example because of this:

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
Matt. 18:6

It is sad that many Christians don’t seem to be loyal to Jesus.

You deserve credit for being one who actually comments on this matter, as so far the believers who seem to leap in and bang away at Evolution or Cosmic origins (which in Creationist thought is the same thing ) have been deathly silent here.

But I have surprisingly often seen some religious apologists bite the bullet on this, rather the way some have bitten the bullet on slavery. Rather than deny it or not talk about it or pretend it is something different (though what else bending boys over altars could be I have no idea) and say that we are all sinners and deserve all we get and God has no business or responsibility to intervene. This is just one of the excuses in the 'problem of evil' debate, but when applied to children getting abused, it is particularly reprehensible.

Mind, I haven't actually seen the 'charlatan gambit' applied to child abuse in religion (of course that's not the only place it occurs). You -all know the one: 'It's ok for televangelists and faith healers to milch their flock and become millionaires, because they are bringing people to God."

Similarly, "It doesn't matter about the abuse of children because they are teaching religion, after all". I haven't heard that one yet. But I have heard '"Even a Bad Man can serve God's purposes" which is akin to the 'It's part of God's plan, so even the bad is good" excuse. Which in the end is simply the fingers in the ears argument, but there we are.