Vatican agrees to inquiry into Cardinal O'Brien's sexual conduct

The Vatican has finally acceded to demands for a formal inquiry into Britain's most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh in February following allegations of sexual misconduct.

An apostolic visitation, a high-level inspection in which the "visitator" is given authority directly by the pope, will take place in the diocese, which has been accused of having had a "gay mafia" during the cardinal's tenure.

News of the apostolic visitation came via the papal nuncio, Antonio Mennini, in a meeting with one of the complainants, a former priest known as "Lenny" who accused the cardinal of making sexual advances to him when he was a seminarian. "The archbishop told me the holy see had decided there would be an investigation into all of the allegations. Anyone affected would be able to give evidence. If it is judged that there is sufficient evidence, then it would go to another, deeper process in Rome," said Lenny.

"I am glad the Catholic church has faced up to the need for a process to determine the truth," he said. "If this story had not gone public in the Observer in February, if there had not been consistent calls for action, we would not have got to this point. But it's now important to scrutinise the scope and remit of the visitation.

"It must address Keith O'Brien's behaviour, but also examine whether any promotions were awarded to the cardinal's cronies."

However, Lenny was dismayed by the nuncio's insistence that the visitator should be the new archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. O'Brien's successor is expected to be announced this month and there is widespread speculation that he will be a Scot currently working in Rome.

There are just as many (some reports indicate more) cases of sexual abuse against minors in protestant churches than in the RCC.

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Sexual Abuse of Minors in Protestant Churches

Written By Father Jonathan Morris

Published June 24, 2007

The mainstream media has all but ignored the recent Associated Press report that the three major insurance companies for Protestant Churches in America say they typically receive 260 reports each year of minors being sexually abused by Protestant clergy, staff, or other church-related relationships.

In light of the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church beginning five years ago, religious and victims’ rights organizations have been seeking this type of data for years. It has been hard to come by since Protestant Churches are more de-centralized than the Catholic Church.

Responding to heavy media scrutiny, the Catholic Church has reported that since 1950, 13,000 “credible accusations” have been brought against Catholic clerics (about 228 per year.) The fact that this number includes all credible accusations, not just those that have involved insurance companies, and still is less than the number of cases in Protestant churches reported by just three insurance companies, should be making front page of The New York Times and the network evening news. It’s not.

The report is even more telling if we consider the plethora of independent or “store front” Protestant churches that don’t have insurance and whose numbers, therefore, certainly are not taken into account in this study.

This bad news for Protestant Churches is sad news for all of us. I would prefer the problem be limited to any one church — even if that church were my own — because it would mean more kids would be safe. But as I have said repeatedly over the last few years, the problem of sexual abuse of minors is not an issue of religious affiliation because there is nothing religious about abusing children. The phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors in church settings is the story of sick human beings taking advantage of their position of moral authority to prey on the weak and vulnerable. If Catholic clergy were to be faithful to their church’s teaching, there would be no abuse in the Catholic Church. The same goes for Protestant clergy. The problem, then, is not one of corrupt doctrine, but of individuals being unfaithful to the most basic precepts of their own religious belief.

Let’s be clear: the report of abuse in Protestant Churches in no way clears guilty members of the Catholic Church — neither the predators nor those who moved them from church to church and put other young people in danger. But the report does give us better perspective. The problem of sexual abuse has no denominational boundaries.

But why, then, is there so much abuse in church settings in general? Because contemporary society is sick and it is producing so many sick people that some of these disjointed souls even end up in churches. It should also be noted that we are more likely to hear about the church-related cases because they tell a more salacious story — what should be white is black, and so on. The Catholic Church is the best story because the blame (and the money trail) can go all the way to Rome.

I would like to be able to say that the sexual abuse of minors is limited to church settings because, if that were the case, once again, more kids would be safe. But it’s not. Sexual predators are in our schools, hospitals, and foster families. It hurts to say it, but because our society is so sick, sexual predators are everywhere.

But there’s hope. Society does not spin out of control on its own. It has fallen with us and it can rise with us. Society is cultivated and formed by human beings who are capable of changing behavior patterns and doing the right thing. The most important thing we can do to heal societal wounds is to teach our children, day in and day out, by words and example, what it means to love and be loved. Disjointed and sick people, the ones who abuse children, don’t fall from the sky. They are born into families, into towns, and communities. It is to the degree that more moms and dads, teachers, pastors, and neighbors are able to pass on the beauty of selfless love that society will start to get better — and our churches too.

God bless, Father Jonathan

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286153,00.html
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I SMELL ANTI-CATHOLIC BIGOTRY