The Bishops are Going to Pray About Sexual Abuse in Their Ranks


When the U.S. Bishops announced a few days ago they were going to meet for the purpose of praying about sexual abuse, I thought it might have been parody. This is what a comedian would have the Bishops doing if he was making fun of them.

Of course, it is not parody. It is the Bishops taking advantage of their lofty circumstances which allow them to do nothing. Some of the victims of sexual abuse by priests stated they wished the Bishops would actually do something instead of pretending to do something by praying.

This praying is in preparation of an upcoming conference where the Pope will outline the Vatican's world wide policy on sexual abuse by Catholic Clergy. We can expect two measures from the Pope and Vatican.

One will be continued prayers. It is an ancient default position for all bad deeds by clergy.

The other will be some bureaucratic steps aimed at preventing those prone to abuse into the priesthood and a protocol for dealing with it when it comes up. Experience has shown the Catholic bureaucracy cannot deal with this problem.

Back when all the sexual abuse started we saw how Bishops responded. They moved offending priests around. When necessary they sent priests to "rehabilitation." The church's version of rehab for sex offenders was inside the church therapy, avoiding publicity, followed by a return to parishes when the church's own therapists determined they were "healed" and no longer dangerous to children.

I've not heard of other organizations that believed child sex offenders are cured and safe. Maybe there are some but I have always heard there is a consensus child offenders should be monitored even after treatment. 

So, the Bishops will pray. Some of us will roll our eyes.

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