Like many of you, I have been reading the articles about child abuse, especially recently uncovered child abuse of many years ago, by priests in the Roman Catholic Church (including at least two bishops). I also read a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer today about children whose parents were members of the Hare Krishna sect and who were sexually abused, physically abused in other was, or both. I have also read articles in the past of child abuse (both sexual and non-sexual) in other religious settings in this country.

I have many thoughts about this disturbing and serious issue, though they haven't jelled yet. What are your thoughts? Is this a topic we are able to discuss in our usual courteous way?

By Sunny on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 01:34 pm:

I'm not sure what the question is you're asking. How do I feel about the abuse cases? It makes me sick to think that people who these children looked up to and respected, or more precisely, were told to respect, violated them in the worst way. It makes all organized religion look bad.

What disturbs me the most is that these offenders, instead of being removed from positions which put them in direct contact with children, were reassigned, and the new congregations knew nothing about their past offenses.

By Jujubee9752 on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 07:51 pm:

I am not sure what your questions are either..but here is my perspective. I know many people who have suffered from abuse. Every form of abuse; sexual, physical, emotional, and mental. I think it is sickening when anyone abuses a child. But it really bothers me to hear about a person who is "religious" or in any type of religion doing this. For many reasons:
1) A person who believes in God is supposed to be someone that you can trust and count on. A shelter in the storm.
2) It gives all christians, catholics,so-on and so-forth a bad name. It seems to me that when a person of a religious background is accused of something like this, the whole religon gets the finger pointed at it.
3) These people (or at least alot of them) are put into positions of trust. And they abuse their power, and that makes it all the worse.
Those are just a few of my reasons, I also agree with Sunny, they should have been removed completely from any contact with children. Not just reassigned to prey on someone else's children.

By Colette on Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - 02:04 pm:

Our Cardinal, Cardinal Law, is just as much to blame, if not more so, than the pedophile priests. He should be locked up right beside them. I cannot put money in the donation basket every week knowing it's going to help someone like him. It seems like every week more charges are being brought against one of our (Massachusetts) priests.