7% of Australia’s Catholic Priests Abused Children, Inquiry Told

This is just the latest round....

I watched that 'Spotlight' movie a few eeeks ago --  about when the investigations first began over in Boston..

There are journalists in the USA, and here in Australia, who have been recognised and awarded for their ongoing investigations into these matters..


Some interesting figures, so far :

The level of offending priests in some American dioceses and parishes, and some in parts of Ireland, has been as high as 15% (no reason to believe it may not be just as high in parts of Oz..);
Overall in the Catholic church, the figure is supposedly just over 5% of clergy, brothers and nuns;
The figure was highest among the brothers and priests in the Order of St. John.


Abuses of position, and systemic coverups isn't only isolated to the Catholic church, though.
All mainline Christian churches are implicated in these ongoing investigations :

Anglican, Uniting, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Salvation Army, are shown all just as bad;
Top of the list over in the USA, so far are some of those Evangelist/'Born Again' denominations --  no real surprises there --  as they regularly top the hypocricy charts..

And let's not forget a few other groups caught up in these ongoing investigations into systematic institutionalised child abuses, abuse of office, and coverups --  scout groups, PCYCs, charities, orphanages, 'military' schools, and certain professions such as teachers, nurses, police, judges...


One thing these investigations do show is just how paedophiles, child exploiters and their enablers can be/are so predatory, devious and scheming in nature, that they tend to target those institutions, organisations and professions where it easier for them to access vulnerable children, and often hide away their sins..

And their crimes aren't just confined  to types of sexual abuses, but also include forced labour programmes, child trafficking (including the British government sending those thousands of children overseas during WWII;  and American and Australian gov'ts relocating thousands of children; and the stolen children currently in parts of Africa..).

Should let them get married, sexual frustration I think.

I saw that film Wolfie. It blew me away how so many trusted people got away with that shit for so long.

nicko wrote:

Should let them get married,    sexual frustration I think.

Celibacy is not a major factor -- in and of itself,  nicko...
(If it were, you would also be seeing significant rates of sexual assaults by nuns, buddhist monks, various 'holy men', and people forced into celibacy through circumstance..).

Anglican and Protestant ministers can marry, and the child abuse rate among their numbers is still over 5%...    Orthodox churches, Islam and Hindu faiths will also be similar..


It's not the job that creates the peado's and exploiters --  but rather that the certain type of predator will seek out the jobs that suit their agendas..

Don't forget that scoutmasters, charity and welfare workers, and teachers and medical workers, will also be likely career paths targetted by potential child abusers.


What is worse, for the Catholic Church, is how many times they have hidden away evidence, destroyed records, moved guilty priests around, not reported to police --  the 'institutionalised' coverups, where the reputation of the church,  and the 'empire building' by the heirarchy, is so often put ahead of the welfare of the victims, and justice against the perpetrators..

yep and while in NSW at least there has been great moves to prevent this kind of individual entering the teaching profession or the department of education in any form.
the same has not been done in any of the religious institutions. still suggesting that 'faith' is enough for assumption of virtue
If anything history shows the opposite that people should be suspicious of the virtue of 'faith' workers.

P.S. in Buddhist majority countries the Buddhist monks have been shown to be the same, undoubtable the same reason that these people seek positions that will allow them chances to abuse.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

nicko wrote:

Should let them get married,    sexual frustration I think.

Celibacy is not a major factor -- in and of itself,  nicko...
(If it were, you would also be seeing significant rates of sexual assaults by nuns, buddhist monks, various 'holy men', and people forced into celibacy through circumstance..).

Anglican and Protestant ministers can marry, and the child abuse rate among their numbers is still over 5%...    Orthodox churches, Islam and Hindu faiths will also be similar..


It's not the job that creates the peado's and exploiters --  but rather that the certain type of predator will seek out the jobs that suit their agendas..

Don't forget that scoutmasters, charity and welfare workers, and teachers and medical workers, will also be likely career paths targetted by potential child abusers.


What is worse, for the Catholic Church, is how many times they have hidden away evidence, destroyed records, moved guilty priests around, not reported to police --  the 'institutionalised' coverups, where the reputation of the church,  and the 'empire building' by the heirarchy, is so often put ahead of the welfare of the victims, and justice against the perpetrators..

Spot on.