Cayman’s children and the Catholic Church
For God’s sake, what is it going to take? How many more horrible stories must we see in the international news before someone in the Cayman Islands takes a good look into the safety of our children who are involved with the Catholic Church here? Wasn’t the report about the priest who molested approximately 200 deaf boys at a boarding school in Wisconsin the final straw?
Or what about last week’s revelation that Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became pope, appears to have sided with that monstrous priest over the child victims?
Given the ever-growing scandal of rampant sexual abuse of children and teens by Catholic priests, it is absurd for us to pretend that it could never happen in the Cayman Islands. It may already have happened. Who would have told the public if it had? Who would have warned parents if a priest had come here under a cloud of accusations and past crimes? Certainly not the Church.
Defenders of the faith are likely to cringe in horror at such comments. After they finish cringing, however, they may want to consider who oversees Cayman’s St. Ignatius Parish. The Archdiocese of Detroit has pastoral responsibility for Cayman and this is their record: Sixty-three of their clerics sexually abused 116 victims over the past 54 years. This is what is on record. No one knows what the real toll might be. Bad as that is, however, consider these findings from an in-house national review board: In the US, from 1950 to 2002, more than 4,000 priests and deacons have sexually abused nearly 11,000 American children. A more recent report, dealing with the period from 2004 through 2009, identified 3,091 “abusive clergy” and 4,568 victims. These are astonishing numbers alone. However, they are even more striking since they are attached to an organization that claims to occupy humanity’s moral high ground.
Perhaps the only thing more disgusting than so many priests sexually abusing so many children and teenage minors is the way Catholic leadership reacted to the crisis. The institution that once ran inquisitions and burned women at the stake seems very forgiving of sin when the sin involves their priests molesting children. Rather than pick up the phone and call the police like any normal and decent human being would do upon learning that a child has been raped, Church leaders often chose to hush it up and simply transfer offenders to new hunting grounds where they could continue preying on children. Therefore, it is not rude or unreasonable to openly wonder if any predator priests were sent to the Cayman Islands over the last 60 years. (For most of that period Cayman was under the leadership of the Kingston Diocese. The Arch Diocese of Detroit took charge of the Cayman Islands in 2000.)
In addition to the past, there is the present and the future to consider as well. Someone here should be asking hard questions, doing background checks, and—if all is well—reassuring the public that there is nothing to worry about. In the absence of that, based on what we see in the international media every day, shouldn’t St. Ignatius Church have a warning sign posted on its property at the very least?
Here’s a discomforting thought for Cayman’s Catholics to ponder when they put their hard-earned money in the collection plate this Sunday. So far, the US Catholic Church has paid out some $3 billion to victims who were sexually abused by clergy. Nodoubt, as more cases come emerge around the world, many more settlements will have to be paid. One wonders why good people are content to help pay for the evil deeds of others.
To be clear, nothing in this commentary should be misinterpreted as an accusation against any individual priest in Cayman, past or present. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, of course, and the majority of priests are decent people who would never harm a child. Child molesters can be found in any profession. However, when an employee is caught having sex with children or minors, most companies and institutions have the good sense to fire them immediately and report it to the police. Or, at the absolute minimum, make certain that this employee is not allowed to be around children anymore. Most CEOs definitely would not react by simply transferring the offender to another region, as the Catholic Church did in numerous cases. The key message here is that the Catholic Church itself, the entire global entity, has shown that it cannot be trusted with children.
Catholics may be interested to know that some non-Catholics are genuinely confused by the Church loyalties of so many mothers and fathers. Why would any parent continue to involve their child in an organization with a record like this? Just imagine if some Cayman organization or company had a similar international scandal, one involving years of abuse by a significant number of its mid-level managers, blatant cover-ups by top executives, and big payoffsto victims. They probably would have been shutdown long ago. One would think that our government would be very interested in their activities here. It would also be reasonable to assume that no right-thinking Caymanian parent would allow their children to go within a mile of their property, right? So why is it different with the Catholic Church? Why don’t “better safe than sorry” and “I’ll do anything to protect my child” apply in this context?
Imagine if one of our local fast-food franchises was connected to a pattern of abuse and cover-up that extended up to the highest levels of management. What if the scandal involved several countries and, from 2004 through 2009, 3,091 of their employees were known to have sexually abused 4,568 child victims? Would you continue to give this company your money and eat their food? Would you let your child work there?
Before local Catholics circle the wagons and misinterpret this commentary as a mean-spirited attack against them, one hopes they will consider what really matters here. This is about children. This is not a grumpy tirade by a bitter ex-Catholic with an axe to grind. These are not the ramblings of some nut who thinks the Pope is the Anti-Christ. This commentary is only pointing out that there is clear reason to be concerned about the safety of our children, nothing more. Hopefully, sensible Catholics who love their children will recognise this and agree.
No one in Cayman can deny that the warning has been sounded loud and clear. So many US cases have been reported in print, on radio and on TV that it feels routine. Now the scandal has grown to include Ireland, Germany, Spain, Austria, Netherlands, and other countries. This is not a US problem, as the Vatican once claimed. Clearly it is a Catholic problem that national borders do not contain. There is nothing so special about the Cayman Islands to suggest that it could not have happened here or that it could never happen here.
If it ever comes to light that even one Caymanian child has been sexually abused by Catholic clergy in recent years, or at any time in the future, the guilt will extend far beyond church grounds. As a society we would have no excuses to hide behind. None of us would have the luxury of feeling surprised or shocked. This problem has been on the radar since at least the 1980s and should be common knowledge by now. The story is out and it’s everywhere: the predator priests, cardinal cover-ups, and the Vatican unwilling to act decisively in the interest of children. If it happens in Cayman, we certainly can’t say that it snuck up on us.
A recent letter sent to Catholic leaders from past victims of clergy abuse in the Pacific island of Guam pleaded for accountability and safeguards against future abuse. It contained the following line: “We fear for the children of Guam.”
One wonders about the children of the Cayman Islands. Does anyone here care enough to fear for them?
Category: Viewpoint
The previous posts by islandman were/are ficticious, personally. But may/do serve as real case examples of many, many people.
The organization (any, including the catholic) should work to correct the wrongdoins of it’s members, not to cover up such crimes and protect its image (power and wealth).
Until such time that the Catholic religion (and others) completely owns its wrongdoings and report such crimes to the Police, they will continue to lose credibiity.
Some will say my posts were lies and thus discredit them entirely. The posts were designed to bring about attention to a "real person/case scenario" and accomplished that. And is hardly near as wrong as the "cover-up" by the catholic organization, from the pope on down.
Islandman.
Here’s an article that sheds some light on the subject.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/04/08/are-the-media-engaged-in-catholic-bashing-with-scandal-reports/
To those who have expressed concern and now give advice to islandman; I have long since gotten help to deal with all this. Through other avenues than the catholic church who are wholly unqualified to offer any real help. Where else would we even consider going to our perpretrator to seek help with healing, except in man’s religious organizations…proposterous!
And i do NOT need to be "reconciled with the church". The church is of man. I have a relationship with God yes!…but it has nothing to do with any one church/denomination.
Thanks for the concern, however our energies need to be directed at demanding that all organizations (including the powerful catholics) be made to acknowledge and pay for (including jail) their crimes.
islandman.
Did the abuse you suffered occur in Cayman?
No! And my case has already been dealt with.
That’s not to suggest that Cayman has not likely had it’s share of abuse…and likely still does, as the culture of "sweeping things under the carpet" is so prevalent here.
Islandman, I am so sad that you had to experience that as a boy – what a horrific experience, being abused by people that everyone trusted. I am frankly disgusted with the Catholic leaders who have covered up this behaviour for years – I think that not only the molesters should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law but anyone who had any knowledge and failed to report the crimes for aiding and abetting. I hope that some of the scars are beginning to heal for you and that you have peace in knowing that you never did any wrong and didn’t deserve that.
I think it is worth reading the words of Pope Benedict himself in an address, specifically given to the Church in Ireland, but I think it is fair to say that it extends to all people because he has in fact met with victims of abuse throughout the world. I think if you read this objectively you will see that Pope Benedict is deeply sorry for what has happened and there has been a lot that has been done within the Church to prevent this from ever happening again.
For those who have posted testimony’s of personal abuse or abuse in your family I highly encourage you to at least read the section addressed to victims.
Here is an excerpt "You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enoughto speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. … It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was himself a victim of injustice and sin."
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland_en.html
Will this undo the pain that you have endured? No, and he acknowledges that, but, it may be the beginning to healing and forgiveness.
The Catholic Church has made incredible efforts to make sure this does not happen again since it was first was reported in the early 2000s. It is probably one of the safest places for children today. Does that mean that it couldn’t happen again? No, but at least the Church is striving to do all that it can to prevent it. I agree that one child abuse case is one too many and so I simply ask you all to pray for all people, whether they are priests, parents, pastors, doctors, teachers, politicians, coaches, and even yourself, that we might strive to live a holy life in imitation of Jesus Christ.
The Pope’s statement was a joke! He is the epitome of evil, or braindead, or both! Merely expressing that he is "deeply sorry" when it comes to the rape and torture and the ruination of the lives of countless helpless innocent children just does not cut it!
It needs to be burned into people’s minds that this beastly monster that the Catholic Church considers co-equal to God in his decrees is part of the horrible scandal. And yet he has offered no initiative in prosecuting those responsible and offering help and restitution for those injured by his organisation.
Rather than doing what was right and moral and just and Christ-like and trying to protect the children involved, when The Beast learned of the heinous acts that were being done to children by people under his authority, he merely relocated those guilty. Often these evil men were given charge of a fresh group of children to abuse! The Pope’s main concern was not protection of the children but rather protecting the image of the church.
Then he has the brass balls to continue to stonewall the people of the world and to this day has not been honest and admitted his guilt, nor has he truly apologised and offered restitution. All he can do is spew is more deceitful hot air. It is now painfuly obvious that the Pope is far less concerned about the damage and prosecuting those responsible as he is about protecting the image of his evil empire. I can think of no punishment too great for this co-perpetrator of horrors.
To address the original Viewpoint, my concern is how any thinking parent would entrust their children to members of a cult that believes that the dodgy and dottering old man who they call their leader is infallible in his dictums. I call into question the sanity of anyone who believes that Mary and angels are worhty of worship, that some mere mortals (many of whom did not even actually exist and of those who did exist the Catholic church fabricated stories about them that are largely myths) are miracle-working "saints". And I truly question the sanity of a person who is deluded enough to swallow the tripe about "transsubstantiation" (pun intended!) in modern day Catholic cultic rites.
I have doubts of the mental health and stability of anyone who, in the face of all truth and reality can possibly believe the countless fairytales that the Catholic church hold as doctrine and dogma! So it is not much of a stretch that many of those in authority in the church are being outed as criminal psychopaths, liars and rapists. One’s mind cannot be quite right to buy their folly in the first place.
The Catholic Church has lost the greatest part of their credibility in recent months. I want my children to be influenced by good role models not warped, power mongers who take stock in lies and who condone evil.
A mere "Oopsie! Sorry for all the torture, rape and stuff, people. Can ya forgive us now so we can continue to deceive with impunity?" from the Pope is just another manisfestationof a truly sick mind that heads an equally sick organisation.
Wow!
How unna like dem apples!?
:o)
Preach it…preach it!!
Most of what you have written does not accurately describe what we believe. However, this isn’t really the best medium for discussing this so I’m just going to leave it at that. Peace and God bless.
Ok,so let me get this straight. In essence, what is being said is that I, as a Caymanian, should pick up my family and leave Cayman and not bring my children up as Caymanians because some individual Caymanians have committed criminal acts (including the killing of an innocent boy). That I should be ashamed of being Caymanian because for years it was said that there were gang problems, drug problems, etc. and our leaders ignored it or just didn’t deal with it? Same concept – stop being Catholic and be ashamed of being a Catholic because of individuals within the Catholic church. There are problems, corruption and, yes, evil within the Catholic population – please note that I said Catholic population and not Catholic faith. There are problems, corruption and, yes, evil within all areas of life whether it be religion, work, school, etc. – do we disassociate ourselves with all of them!?! Wake up and stop breeding hate! If you dislike the Catholic church that is your perogative but please remember that each of us have the right to believe in what we want!
Sexual transgressions happen in all walks of life. Unfairly singling out one sector and making it seem like it is by far the worst seems more like a smear campaign than anything else.
I am sure it has happened in any denomination (Baptist, United, Anglican, etc.) or any other religious sect.
Tragic and unfortunate to say the least, but let’s not push it as being all on the Catholics heads!
It’s not the same!
I was nine when i was fondled by a preist, ten when he performed oral sex on me. My dad had long gone (from the time i was five). My mom looked up to the preist as if he was the neighbourhood god, and i felt it would crush her, because she had always told me how "good" the preist and church is. My grades dropped and i became withdrawn and beganto hang with the rough crowd.
At sixteen my teacher (female in her twenties) took a special interest in me and she eventually had sex with me. But she did more than that, she held me and told me i could be anything and anyone i wanted. She didn’t us me and then throw me away (figuratively). After that term she referred me to a counsellor and she left my school.
Both cases here are examples of abuse. But the abuse by the preist caused far more damage. First it was by a representative of GOD! then it was a man (i was a nine year old boy) also it destroyed my trust with religion and greatly damaged my relationship with my mother (she continued with her brainwashed notion that the church/preist can do no wrong…that i was bad and possesses by the devil).
The greatest insult and injury was when years later (through counselling and meeting others like myself who had been abused also) we attempted to speak with this preist’s seniors, we were met with a wall of excuses. It took years of lawyers millions of dollars for anone from the catholic organization inmy area to speak with us and acknowledege any wrongdoing. It turned out that senior level persons had known for decades and simply moved this person (and others) every so often.
The very oranization that was supposed to bring harmony and peace into my home, had brought sexual predators…but the real horror and deepest abuse was that "the catholic organization" covered it up.
I find it baffling that with ALL that is known today (2010) that some people will still try to deflect by talking out abuse in other areas too. Seemingly to justify that since others have stolen or killed and abused then it is ok. It is NOT ok…especially for the church as an organization to defend/cover it up!
I have since grown up and grown and havevast experience (both professionally and personally) and can say that much of the downfall of mankind and society is about ‘covering-up’ that which needs sunlight.
The Catholic organization has held itself out to be some form of perfection here on earth, with it’s own human god (the pope) and it’s NOT real. The sooner they own that, the sooner they might regain some credibility!
People are not as gullible and brainwashed, thank God (pun intended) as they once were. This s NOT about attacking God, it is about dismantling Man’s religious organization of power and greed and brainwashing.
All men and women and children…unite under your own understanding of God..and seek knowledge and wisdom and love. Peace!
To "Islandman", were you molested by a Catholic priest in Cayman or did it happen in some other country? What year did this occur?
This may not be the best forum to expose something like this but I encourage you to tell someone.
To your knowledge, is this priest still active somewhere? Could he be harming more children?
If so, please speak up so that he might be stopped.
I wish you well.
A TIME TO GROW?
– Child molesters
– War mongers
– Criminal underworld supporters and shareholders
– Black and Brown people enslavers (Blessed ships)
– Black and Brown children molesters (see my previous post)
– Mass accumulation of illegally gained wealth
– Passive participants in alleged attempted genocide (Holocaust)
– Child molester protectors
– Indirect acts of genocide within Africa (the condom debate)
– The Crusades
– The Spanish Inquisition
– Trickery and subsequent slaughter of native peoples in "newly discovered" lands
– Justification of the brutal oppression of women
– Justification of the enslavement, breeding, killing, branding, maiming of millions of people
– Justification of the racial hierarchy of the "new world" – which still stands firm in the psyche of the West by the way. (E.g. UK’s FCO: "Tarzans / Man Fridays" of the Chagos Islands)
… I could go on.
Perhaps this is an opportunity for us all to question the role of organized religion in this world.
As far as I can see there is not much righteousness to be found in any of the above events and periods.
The function of western organized religions is to act as a political force in this world – regardless of heinous act – yet manage to retain the blessing or allowance of "God" in order to deflect all forms of criticism – mine included.
For those of you who have been offended by the posts herein and have forcefully retaliated, even citing statistics of other faiths at times – to you I respectfully say "grow up".
Open your eyes and see your religion for what it really is – not a single one of them has a track record even remotely close to keeping with "God’s word".
What you will find however is that they are all now masters of political jargon and spin – very powerful and rich masters no less!
When I want to find God I do so in my own time. Sometimes on a beautiful morning as the sun rises or perhaps on my way home at night as I gaze into the wondrously illuminated sky. The minute I see a pointy hat, wooden stick, shiny rock, bushy eyebrows or a black robe rest assured – a left hook is on its way…followed by a right uppercut.
None of these "groups" have arrived at their current state of "prominence" by doing Godly things – or by way of simply humane things for that matter.
Wake up people. See the mechanisms of control and division for what they are all over this world. A good person is a good person – regardless of one’s faith or religion. I highly doubt that a generous, kind and law abiding Muslim will burn in hell forever because he failed to receive a few drops of water on the forehead as a baby or neglected to remove the foreskin of eternal damnation.
I look at every generation of life as a numbers 1,2,3, 4, … 10 process. My day of passing will be my "10". The natural order of this earth and life in general is for "11" to manifest itself in the psyche, knowledge and understanding of my offspring. Sadly, religion and its wholly-holy and wholly-infallible superstitions tends to act as an impenetrable roadblock to this process.
No more.
Let us call spades spades and leave ridiculous superstitions right where they belong … in the ignorant past. One thing that I find most disturbing about (adult) humans is our unreasonable and relentless grasp onto "how I was raised" as a way to self-identity and status. Interesting, as deep down most of us secretly pity or scoff at those from far away lands who do the very same thing, only from their perspective. Nonetheless, both sides are 100% convinced in the infallibility of their own faith and the corrupted falsity of the other.
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 -7 – 8 – 9 – 10 … (1 again?)
Religion is the problem in general. Get rid of it!
Amen Brother.
Sin is the problem, not religion. If you remove religion you still have evil and perhaps more of it.
"Belgian priest tells of 300 sexual abuse cases"
Yeah, there’s lots of it going on… but where’s the snappy commentary to go with the links you are sharing?
Just a fluff today little Girby??
Ms. Kirkconnell,
XXXXX There is no true free speech in the Cayman Islands. Read the turgid ham letters in the Compass from the usual suspects – only those with nothing to lose dare open their mouth in this oppressive jurisdiction.
Now excuse me while I go and bake some barley cakes with my own excrement. Ezekiel 4:12.
Anne A. Theist
I agree with you Ms. Kirkconnell, & I thank you for giving the other side.
It is fact that 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic problem. (by the way, these statistics were not done by a Catholic, they were done by a Jew, so please DO NOT attempt to say these results are biased). Why don’t they write & talk about these facts. Why don’t they criticize preachers & pastors in other churches? Is it ok to engage in pedophilia once you are not a Catholic? I agree that 1.7% is too high, but 10% IS DISGRACFUL.
The persons that are criticizing the Catholic church are as guilty as the 10% of the Protestant ministers who engage in these disgraceful acts, because to criticize the Catholic church only while giving the other churches (who are worse) a pass is emboldening the sinful & disgracful acts by the ministers in other churches.
I am against pedophilia by ANYONE, but it seems that these hypocritical critics of the Catholic church are against pedophilia ONLY IF COMMITTED by the clergy in the Catholic church. May GOD have mercy on their soul, because no one should condone pedophilia by anyone, be it Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, or any of the others, but it seriously appears that there are many people who accept pedophilia once it is committed outside of the Catholic church. There is no other explanation why these people give the 10% of the Protestant ministers a break. It is sad that they accept pedophilia by anyone, REAL SAD (& I hope this hypocritical view & acceptance of pedophilia by ministers in non-Catholic churches is only a Cayman problem).
"It is fact that 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia…I agree that 1.7% is too high, but 10% IS DISGRACFUL".
I find this statistic highly dubious. What is the source? Perhaps you got it from this website: http://home.comcast.net/~rosses8/pedoph.html. It refers to the study done by historian Philip Jenkins but this is not what Mr. Jenkins actually says in his book. Instead, Mr. Jenkins admits that similar studies for Protestant pastors do not exist.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a survey of Roman Catholic church records of abusive clergy in 2002 and found that for the period 1950-2002, 4,450 our of a total of 110,000 were accused of abuse – 4%. of course the real figure may be significantly higher because of the godlike reverence that RCs have for their priests which inhibits them from making reports. While most of these were not convicted this may be for a variety of reasons including that the priest had died. I am not aware of any comparable study of Protestant Ministers or any basis for statistic.
Of course this is somewhat besides the point which is the coverup and relocating to another parish that happens in the RCC when abuse does occur allowing it to continue to recur. On the other hand in churches which do not have a hierarchical structure when child molesters are identified they are typically removed and face criminal charges. Bishops protect priests rather than parishioners. More typically Protestant pastors when they do cross sexual boundaries do so with adult women, while RC priests more typically do so with teenage boys.
Until you prove otherwise, I am inclined to believe that your statistics are simply propaganda designed to deflect criticism of the RCC by suggesting that there are churches that are much worse.
If a member of one family commits murder, do you call all other members of that family murderers? No. That person acted as an individual and all other members of the family should not be condemned nor scorned for this horrendous act. For every 1 priest that commits these vile acts, there are hundreds and hundreds who have dedicated their lives to feeding the hungry, helping the sick, etc. They should not be tainted by the same brush as these sick individuals. And let’s be realistic here – these sick people, whether they became a priest or not, would have committed the same act because it is not their "vocation" that has made them do this!! It’s a choice that the individual makes (as an individual)! What has also upset me about this posting is people have used this forum to tell Catholics that they should be ashamed of their faith. I am a Catholic and find great peace and comfort in my faith. I am in no way ashamed of my Catholic faith. I am horrified and saddened that individuals (priests or non-priests) have used the cloak of faith to hurt and abuse, BUT, as stated above, they have acted as individuals and I, nor other Catholics, should not be told that we should not bring our children up as Catholics nor should we be made to feel that our faith is less than any other. It is a very narrow minded individual that calls people "idiots" for being Catholic and condemns a whole faithbecause of sick individuals within that faith!
If one person commits murder and the extended family takes steps to cover it up and to turn a blind eye to other extend family members who are likely to do the same thing then there is a basis to criticise the broader group.
You are missing the point here. It’s not about individual priests here and there committing these crimes. It’s about the entire organization, up to the highest levels, protecting these predators for decades and allowing them to continuing raping and molesting children.
You are denying reality here. Your Church has severe problems. Face up to it.
The link at 19:17 is misleading. First of all, beware, it’s a post on a Catholic propaganda site. Secondly, it cites some survey that includes not just protestant preachers but all employees, coaches, volunteers, janitors, cooks, gardeners, etc. who have ever had anything to do with a Protestant church. That is hardly a fair comparison.
I find this repeated attempt by Catholic defenders to claim "they are just as bad as us!" is revolting. That makes it okay? Sick people.
Anon 20:39 I think that it you that is sick, because no Catholic has claimed "they are just as bad as us!" Please point that out to us. You conveniently ignore the fact that this sickening behavior is committed by far more preachers, pastors & members of other churches than by those in the Catholic Church. That does not make it acceptable for Catholic priests to do it, but you seem to want to push aside the fact that other churches have a far greater problem than the Catholic Church. Are you ok with that? Shouldn’t you be against anyone in any religion or church that commits this mortal act? You are a sick person!
NOT one Catholic defender is trying to "claim they are just as bad as us" and for the narrow-minded "fur-lined" to claim so and call the defenders "Sick people", is only trying to deflect the same problems away from his/her religion and it WON’T happen.
I have not seen one defender of the Catholic Church accepting that child molestation is ok, but what is being said is that child molestation of any kind and anywhere is totally unacceptable but do not accuse only the Catholic Church but reveal the same child molestations in other churches (instead of covering it up) and child molestation in any walks of life.
So "fur-lined" it would be good if you try to stop the child molestation that you KNOW about and then maybe this "Decease" will be cleansed from society.
Please deal with all child molestation throughout the Island which is prevalent, but I have not heard that any Catholic has been involved in any of these cases, and I am not trying to say that Catholics are "sin-free" but I am saying that as of now the Catholics in Cayman have a good reputation which they have worked very hard on maintaining.
You will always have "Sick people" trying to ruin other people, but WE will stand firm!!!!!!!!
Sex-Abuse of Minors Higher in Protestant Churches
Malicious, bigoted innuendo on the part of cowards who are able to annonomously use this website to promote their hatred and viciousness without having to be held accountable has to be stopped. Any credible site does not allow postings unless accompanied by verified authors with credible email addresses. This would drastically eliminate these unsubstantiated and offensive attacks.
Nevertheless I want to reiterate that all child abuse is abhorrent and heinous and all offenders have to be stopped and held accountable for their crimes.
According to recent studies statistics show that about 60% of all child abuse happens in families by family members, 2% were Catholic priests and the rest were in other churches and institutions including schools, clubs, doctors etc.
As Jesus Christ himself said in John Chapter 8 "Let the one amoung you who is without sin be the first to throw the stone", and if we are genuinely interested in the children we would be asking government to investigate and put in place stringent penalties for all child abusers, starting with the cases known to our child protection agencies.
As for the Catholic Church, Jesus also said to his apostles in John Chapter 15 "If the world hatesyou realise that it hated me first…. If they persecuted me they will also persecute you". So said, so done.
To quote George Weigel, "In a pattern exemplifying the dog’s behavior in Proverbs 26:11, the sexual abuse story in the global media is almost entirely a Catholic story, in which the Catholic Church is portrayed as the epicenter of the sexual abuse of the young, with hints of an ecclesiastical criminal conspiracy involving sexual predators whose predations continue today. That the vast majority of the abuse cases in the United States took place decades ago is of no consequence to this story line. For the narrative that has been constructed is often less about the protection of the young (for whom the Catholic Church is, by empirical measure, the safest environment for young people in America today) than it is about taking the Church down-and, eventually, out, both financially and as a credible voice in the public debate over public policy. For if the Church is a global criminal conspiracy of sexual abusers and their protectors, then the Catholic Church has no claim to a place at the talbe of public moral argument".
Please note that before making inane comments everyone should know what they are talking about – look up what the infallibility of the Pope means – all men are human, only God has no sin. However, when it comes to matters of doctrine and faith Jesus Christ told Peter that what was bound on earth is bound in heaven and the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church. Matthew 16:17-19.
And as another aside to writes, was Jesus Christ celibate? Did he marry? Did Paul say that the best way to be an apostle was to be unmarried and celibate, but he also said only some were called as it was a hard and a great sacrifice.
As for the Catholic Church and School in the Cayman Islands, they have been proactive in their protection of children – mandating all teachers, officers, priests, religious educators, or any school and church officials in any capacity to attend the "Protecting God’s Children" workshop.
We need to all unite in prayer and action for the protection of all children.
Personally I applaud and welcome the freedom of speech that this site allows. For too long Cayman has swept things under the carpet, silenced, or hid the skeletons in the closets.
This person wrote an article specific regarding the Catholic religion and obviously didn’t intend to cover all possibilities of child abuse and its origins. Someone else is welcome to write that piece.
What I find interesting is the Catholics responding with spin, deflection and evasive techniques.
What would be so wrong with admitting we have a substantial problem with our men in cloth and it is affecting our congregations and perception in the world media. It is a serious issue that we are trying to rectify and admitting 1 child offended is 1 too many. The problem I see deeply rooted in most of society nowadays is no one, or very rarely, will humans accept responsibility/blame for their mistakes etc.
Keep up the good work CNS. This writers attack in their opening paragraph is simply a human acting on fear- likely fear that their empire may be crumbling.
Cayman Conscience, keep writing and exercising your freedom of speech- it sparks healthy debate.
I congratulate CNS for allowing me, & Caymanian Conscience to have a say, that is freedom of speech. I hope CNS will give me as much freedom as they gave Caymanian conscience because that is "exercising our freedom of speech."
To Anon 21:10, it is my humble opinion that you are accepting of sin as long as the sin is not committed by a Catholic. This is my opinion, & like you, I am expressing my freedom of speech to voice that opinion.
I have not read one posting on this topic where any writer defends the terrible acts by a very small percentage of Catholic priests, so for you to say "what you find interesting is the Catholics responding with spin, deflection & evasive techniques" is feeble, & is in my humble opinion written by a disturbed individual who has an axe to grind. Why do you not criticize others who commit child molestation in far greater numbers than in the Catholic Church? It sickens me to read comments like yours where you attack an individual for posting a comment that is not to your liking, but you say nothing about the awful act of child molestation done by people outside of the Catholic Church. To me that would say that you are against Catholics committing such an awful act but not against it if it is done by someone outside of the Catholic Church. Think about it Anon 21:10, if I write an editorial condemning a particular terrible act by a group of people but ignore the same act done by other groups in a bigger scale, am I not accepting of the acts committed by the other groups by ignoring it? You are wrong to attack a writer because of her views while excusing child molestation in other religions by lamely claiming that others will write about it. Please do not pick & choose who you will attack for committing the same crime, that is pathetic & wrong. Child molestation is wrong regardeless of who commits it, & it would do you a little good to understand that. It might hurt you to accept it but child molestation is wrong even if committed by a non Catholic. I hope you are not one of those non Catholics that are involved but judging by your comments I am very worried. But for your own good try to remember that CHILD MOLESTATION IS WRONG NO MATTER WHO DOES IT.
I congratulate you on your use of freedom of speech Anonymous 23:32, but it seems to me you are so defensive of your religion that you are missing the bigger picture. No one on here has stated anything defending child molestation – obviously any right minded individual is abhorred by it. The article covers one known origin of this type of abuse and doesn’t contend that it is all encompassing. This is not a p*ssing contest to see who commits a greater percentage of horrendous acts (and I don’t even want to get started on some of the defenses based on "convictions" as it is quite well documented how far the Catholic Church – and other organisations in similar circumstances – have gone to hide the abusive acts of its charges)
The article, in its simplist sense, is a warning that we should be looking more closely at who we trust – specifically with our children. I agree that the writer could have mentioned that the precautions should be taken at all times and across all possible guardians of our children, but he/she chose to write about a specific genre which has elevated itself above others by claiming to be parked on morally high ground when clearly it has decided rather than to face facts and clean house they would rather hide as much dirt as possible to keep their "good" name.
When I read this article it doesn’t come across as an attack on Catholic’s but it certainly is an attack on the child molestors in their ranks and the despicable way that the Catholic Church has been PROVEN to attempt to hide these individuals and their criminal acts (criminal both in the courts and in the eyes of God)
The numbers can be skewed in any way you like, 60% of molesters may be family members but they have access to only their family, the 1.7% (your figure) of "convicted" Catholic priests had access to HUNDREDS of children EACH.
Now to move away from religion and put this into context – if a teacher, camp counselor, sports coach, or any other human with access to large numbers of defenseless children and placed in a position of power and trust was proven to have committed these acts they would certainly not be defended. They would be incarcerated. They would not be moved into another feeding ground where they could continue their despicable acts, they would be jailed.
I am not, and Idon’t think the commentator was, condemning Catholics. I have however lost trust in the Catholic church to effectively run its affairs if it is willing to abuse the trust of its followers (and put them at further risk) to protect their name when they should have been doing the polar opposite – rooting out the culprits, excoriating and prosecuting them in the name of protecting the children whose safety has been entrusted unto them.
It can start to gain that trust back by rooting out all of the culprits, convicting them and moving on but until that happens it would be prudent to take the necessary steps, in all of our childrens activities, to ensure their safety.
Be safe Cayman.
Dear: "Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/13/2010 – 23:32.
I congratulate CNS for allowing me, & Caymanian Conscience to have a say, that is freedom of speech. I hope CNS will give me as much freedom as they gave Caymanian conscience because that is "exercising our freedom of speech."…
First, I will state- I condemn all acts of child abuse and molestation.
Now as for having an axe to grind, yes, perhaps I do. Here is why.
My uncle was an alter boy (from age 6-12 I believe) and was abused on numerous occasions by two different priests. In his teenage years he was a bit of a rebel yet went on to be a relatively successful person in his career. However failed miserably as a parent and husband. He turned to alcohol to soothe the pain of his past and repeated the cycle by abusing his 4 children (my cousins). As they became adults, two of them had developed enough courage to lay charges on their Dad. He caught wind of this, and committed suicide days before being arrested, leaving a detailednote of his childhood abuse and pain he carried for abusing his children.
As for my four cousins, two are single parents (by choice- have zero trust in men), the youngest took his own life at 16, and the oldest fights depression and undergoes counselling.
So yes, I do have an axe to grind with your beloved church (and any other that is PROVEN to have these same issues and attempted to cover the problem) as it was not only my Uncle who was molested, it is his kids. So do I put much weight in the stats that are thrown out in defence of the Catholic Church- no- because I haven’t seen any stats that extrapolate the real effect and true numbers effected in the generations after.
And was justice ever served?- no – my uncles predators died of old age. Has the cycle of abuse stopped? I don’t know for certain but hope so.
As I stated in my first post- I ask that members of the Catholic religion (and all others) would spend less time trying to defend their church with stats minimizing the problem and instead grasp the full extent of the harm done and that it does not stop at the single act committed on the alter boy- think of what may have happened within his family and beyond. It has an exponential effect, far greater than the 1.7% number tossed around, with a far greater impact on society than anyone wants to accept.
.
Mrs. Kirkconnell, I agree 100% with you as it is obviously very malicious people (like Cayman Conscience) who can really believe that children here in Cayman must be isolated and protected from the Catholic Church.
Never in the MANY years that the Catholic Church has been a very upstanding member of the Cayman Church community, has there been any rumours are accusations against any member of the Church, and I would like to think that could be said for ALL churches in Cayman.
The Catholic Church has never considered itself "elitish" and never criticizes other Churches as they themselves are constantly criticized, but that comes with jealously.
Cayman Conscience has over stepped the bounds of common decency and I feel that you should just stick to what you know but maybe you are judgeing from experiences within your church.
With all due respect Ms Deborah, there are many of us, both local and expat, who would be only too happy to use our real names but it might cost us our livelihoods or the next promotion or bring a vendetta on our heads from a powerful politician, etc. It’s easy to be brave when you have nothing to fear. Except for this site the power to speak openly is given to a few – and that’s true going back years and years. I have lived in the US where there is real free speech and the Cayman Islands is a long way from that.
As for the Roman Catholic church, you cannot excuse the actions of the Vatican by quoting statistics. The fact of the matter is that the church used its enormous wealth and power to protect the paedofile priests instead of the innocent children, and it turns out that this was all the way through right to the very top. As shocking as this criminal behaviour is, it is even more shocking whenthe world’s repulsion at the worst kind of child abuse is turned on its head and called ‘persecution’.
The problem for Roman Catholics, most of them good people, is that in order to be on the right side of common humanity they must denounce their church’s failings because these have cast a long shadow over every parish in the world. It is not their fault that they have been put in this very difficult position and nor is it CC’s or any of the people commenting here. It is the fault of the Pope and all those priests who covered up the scandals.
Caymanian Conscience says he/she is not accusing any priest past or present in the Cayman Islands and I myself have never heard the faintest whisper of any scandal in connection with the Catholics here, but the questions asked in this commentary are questions that should be asked of every Roman Catholic church in the world.
Condemning abusive priests does not in any way excuse other abusers, including other denominations, but saying that it is only a small number of overall child rapes is not good enough. Even one child rape is enough to disust us. The Roman Catholic Church needs to cleanse itself from top to bottom. This is not attacking anyone, it is attacking a corrupt institution.
The real lesson to be learned here is that it’s not just the pope that is not infallible, it is all pastors, priests, rabbis, and all other church leaders. Be very wary of anyone who claim that they are all goodness and righteousness. We must not trust "men of God" with our children any more than we trust anyone else.
It would be nice to hear from other religious leaders here, not just the Catholics, that they utterly condemn child molestation. Not just to their congregations but to everyone in the Cayman Islands over and over and over so that no one is in any doubt as to how they think about this. As far as I see none of them are doing enough to fight this and are all therefore guilty.
Ms. Kirkconnell
I was a little taken aback when I first saw this Viewpoint. For one thing, it was bound to stir up controversy in a nation that prides itself on religion, and takes it’s religion seriously. It certainly has although I hope that wasn’t the sole purpose as it would no one any good. However, those now coming to the defense of the Roman Catholic Church are doing so from a position of being personally offended. They have some call for that, but they cannot, by right, possibly justify within themselves nor to anyone else, the obvious abuses which have taken place by quoting from the Bible. I’m offended too, but not by that. All it merely does is the same as what some high ranking members of the church are doing, deflecting criticism by obscuring a very serious problem behind religions and religious dogma. As you point out there are sexual predators in all walks of life, and in all religions. But what differentiates those found in religions is the higher moral standards we sometimes expect from them. What further differentiates them are the morals which religions impose on their believers. What shakes our faith even more, and something we don’t care to discuss is did they begin as priests. And turned into child molesters. Whatever the causes or results have you ever questioned why the Roman Catholic Church, and most other mainstream religions, are dominated by men? And, most abusers are men? This is a direct result of an interpretation of the very same Bible you speak of Ms. Kirkconnell (written by men). And a higher authority which all of these individuals say is vested in them by a God. Who’s God? What God? Their God? I’m sorry but you can’t defend the indefensible. It’s rubbish and always has been. To sum up: ALL PURELY PATRIARCHAL RELIGIONS ATTRACT NUTBALLS with a narrow view of our God, who ignore half the human race and JUST some of them happen to be perverts.
The rest are deluded. Take your pick.
The comment from Ms Kirkconnell is a textbook example of how child raping was allowed to flourish in the Catholic Church for so long.
Too many people sitting out in the pews give their absolute trust to Church leaders, even after they are shown to be wrong, immoral and evil. They target their anger toward everyone but the people at the top who enabled this scandal.
With attitudes like that, this organization will never change.
Defenders of the Church keep repeating that "most child abuse happens in families". Sure, but "families" is not a global organization with one leader, a management structure, and headquarters with a physical presence. The comparison is wrong.
This is about one specific organization. Name another specific organization that has a vile record on children like the Catholic Church’s, and there is little doubt that sooner or later they will receive media attention and condemnation by moral people everywhere too.
It’s odd that many adult Catholics are so blinded by their loyalty to these old freaks in the Vatican that they forget their loyalty to Catholic children. What about them? Don’t they deserve the benefit of some of your disgust and rage?
Here’s a quote for all Catholics to think about while they are focused on media reports about the sexual child abuse of Catholic children rather than the organization behind it:
Steven Weinberg: "I think that on the balance the moral influence of religion has been awful. With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil. But for good people to do evil — that takes religion."
CNN: "Connecticut bishops fight sex abuse bill"
Perhaps the Catholic church is getting this backlash more than any other church/religion is because they have always portrayed themselves as holier than any other chuch. They are very stringent with their rules when it comes to their followers, however, they do not seem to apply the principles to their own servants as so much has been brushed under the carpet.
They are preaching Christianity but they are far from practicing it!
I remember as a child that I have witnessed a man and a woman being degraded during church service in front of the entire congregation because they had been caught to have had an extramarital affair. Never mind that many, many, many priests have had sexual encounters with women, men (and children).
To me, the catholic church is the definition of hypocrisy!
Imagine such self righteous people. Go ahead cast the first stone.
Yeah, you’re right. We shouldn’t throw stones at all those priests who sexually molest children.
We aren’t perfect. Yeah, who do we think we are to judge them for raping children?
Maybe they will just stop on their own. Or, better yet, maybe God will stop them. Oh, wait, he never stopped them all those THOUSANDS of times before.
No, on second thought, I still think we should toss some stones, figuratively speaking.
Hey Ratzinger, you are quick to throw stones at priests but not at the preachers in the Baptist, Protestant, Adventists, Mormons, Muslims, & all the hundreds of other churches that have countless numbers of pedophiles, rapists, child molesters & other sick individuals in far greater numbers? How hypocritical can you get. My suggestion is to throw stones at all the pastors, preachers, priests & people of the cloth of ALL religions who do these dasterdly acts. I wouldn’t stop there, I would stone ALL persons who do that. But obviously you do not agree, you only want to stone the priests. Is it wrong only if committed by a priest? Are you for real?
You clearly failed to read the posting by my brother "Ratzinger’s escaped gerbil".
No part of that contained a defence, or even a hist of discrimination in favour of, "Baptist, Protestant, Adventists, Mormons, Muslims, & all the hundreds of other churches that have countless numbers of pedophiles, rapists, child molesters & other sick individuals". In any event, where do you get your evidence that these groups are worse (or better than) than Pope "love your fellow man, especially if he’s 10"? Making up evidence forces thinking people to take the time to call you out on it, and it makes you look very uneducated, and probably uneducable.
Calling my brother a hypocrit in these circumstances is unacceptable.
You are a true fool if you believe this is a Catholic priest only thing. Kids, women, and even men have been and will continue to be molested sexually by other kids, women, and men that have low morals and opportunity. Its Human nature not Catholic priest nature. Read the news: XXXXX. Are you mad because you believed a Catholic priest is less human and more God then a Caymanian man? Anyone could be a child molester and all of them should be held responsible. However you should aim your anger only at those responsible and not at those who you deem guilty by association or you will soon find yourself in the same boat.
Humane nature to moles? I hope not!
I believe the anger is directed at the institution who has been found times and times again to cover up this issue rather than to address it.
"Humane nature to moles? I hope not!"
What does this mean? Maybe it’s just to dark for me to see clearly*. Maybe I need rose-coloured glasses, because this all looks like xxxx to me.
Dick – can you explain what this means, or at lease wipe off my rose-coloured glasses? I need help here…
(*meaning the subject matter)
“Even as new cases of child sexual abuse by clergy emerge each day in Europe and the United States, abuse in the regions where Catholicism is growing fastest—Latin America, Asia, and, especially, Africa—are still largely ignored.”
Sometimes, when a sister becomes pregnant, the priest insists that she have an abortion.
The sister is usually dismissed from her congregation while the priest is often only moved to another parish — or sent for studies.”
BBC: "Pope Benedict hit by new Church child abuse allegations"
It is truly sad and disturbing when any sort of abuse against minors happen by members of the clergy–catholic or protestant. We expect better from men of the cloth. Far too often the Roman Catholic Church is attacked by the secular world and the media. The truth is, child abuse happens in other denominations as well and that too is wrong and should not be tolerated. What upsets me about this article penned by Caymanian Conscience is the letter writer singles out St. Ignatius Catholic Church on Grand Cayman. The letter writer points in the direction with the questions in mind, ‘could it be’ and ‘what if’? at this local parish / church run school. Why didn’t Caymanian Conscience hint towards Triple C, Truth 4 youth, Grace Christian or First Baptist?? The point I am making is this: If there is to be an investigation into the local catholic school, shouldn’t there be investigations at all other church schools as well? This is an outright attack on the Catholic Church and more specifically, St. Ignatius Catholic Church.
All children should be safe and protected. Unfortunately there is evil in the family, the schools, and in churches. There is evil and there is sin. This type of evil stems from Lust, one of the seven deadly sins. We need more purity in lives of Christians. There also needs to be sexual sobriety amongst married couples, singles, the clergy, lay people and young people, i.e. our Children. We prevent and we heal by having open frank discussions. We don’t play the blame game and we don’t go around assuming!
Quincy Brown
Mr. Quincy, when hundreds of Baptist preachers are revealed to have been sexually molesting thousands of children in several countries while being protected by their overseers, we will then be just as concerned about Baptist churches in Cayman.
Until then, our specific concern about the Catholic Church is justified.
Please log on to http://www.stopbaptistpredators.org
So you have justified your Catholic Church concern. How say you on the Baptist Church concern?
Let us not get into denominational bashing. Let us focus on how to protect children. Scandals from the Adventist, Baptist and Pentecostal churches in Cayman have been talked about. Holy Men of God fall because of the sin of the flesh, lust, pride and ego. Self righteous teachers and preachers discourse like angels, but in truth they live like men.
Sin is sin and evil is evil! One should not hide in the church or become a member of the clergy thinking one can hide behind the cross whilst continuing the said evil. What is done in dark always comes to light!
Quincy Brown.
Well said Quincy, and I am always impressed with your knowledge in most topics but I am particularly impressed with your knowledge of Religion as I hear you on talk shows.
Thank you Quincy again for allowing us all to read a little of your knowledge and don’t worry about the few "ney-sayers" as they are in all walks of life.
Stand firm old buddy!!!!!!!
What is really nuts is that popes are supposed to be infallible, absolutely perfect and incapable of doing anything wrong. This is a belief that is central to Catholocism.
So, I guess the current and all past popes have been perfect in the way they have handled this child abuse scandal.
Idiots.
There are many popes throughout history who can be remembered for nothing but acts of notoriety…well, many did nothing else to be remembered for. It isn’t a central belief in Catholicism that popes are "infallible, absolutely perfect and incapable of doing anything wrong".
However, many still remember Pope John Paul II, whom they regard in high esteem. Indeed, he was one of the better examples of areligious leader. Infallible? Hardly. He is currently the yardstick for the current pope.
But many popes throughout the ages have been rather terrible people, and Catholics throughout the ages have known that.
While I do agree that any child abuse happening in religious establishment should be addressed I think it would be a good idea to post something in Viewpoint about Child Abuse/Molestation in Cayman and how it could be addressed as a single topic because I believe that’s very close to home. Just hearing of so many situations where children are abused within their own families or girls being raped by older men. This is a very serious problem that’s being ignored.
People keep talking about how horrible theyouth is but no one wants to address one of the possible contributing factors. Some would rather slander them than help them.
The word "catholic" means- universal, including many or most things, all Churches or Christians. It is a pity the writer did not stick to using the words "Roman Catholic" All Christians are Catholics, but not all are Roman Catholics. The distinction is important. The present scandal is about the Roman Catholic Church.
That’s stupid. Go ask any Baptists if they are "Catholics". Ask any Mormon in the world if he or she is "Catholic". Ask any Pentacostle, and so on.
They are not "Catholic" as in Roman Catholic but they are "catholic" as in a recognised universal body.
Check your Oxford Dictionary/ Websters Dictionary and you will discover who is actually stupid.
No, it actually is you who is stupid.
Try calling Baptists, Mormons, Pentacostles, and people of other Protestant denominations "Catholics" and they will also tell you that you are stupid.
Common usage of the name "Catholic" specifically refers to members of the Catholic Church and not to every Christian in the world.
But who really cares? The topic at hand is the thousands of children being sexually molested by priests, not your vocabulary challenges.
Stay focused.
I believe the poster meant that the ‘publicity’ of the Catholic Church vs. any other church/institution was due to the catholic church having more money to pay the victims, thereby making an interesting story. Molestation and child abuse happens everywhere. It’s not that interesting unless there is an extra kick to it, only because it is a commonplace crime in today’s society.
Other wealthy institutions may have incidents but because the work force is transient, the institution would not be affected in the media but the individual, town, city, state. If the individual happened to be convicted the institution would not be mentioned because the individual is only an employee rather traditionally if you become a member of the church as a nun or priest, it is for life. Therefore the nun or priest is no longer identified as an individual but as part of the collective.
I believe child abuse and molestation is wrong. I also think it is wrong for the writer to give the impression that it is only the catholic church and if you stay away it will never happen to your child. At the end of the day, people are people and it can happen anywhere.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/12/florida.teacher.student.sex/index.html?hpt=Sbin
The publicity might have something to do with the fact that the RCC is the single largest Christian denomination with about 1 billion members and that the abuse is institutionally protected by ranking officials, the leader of whom believes that he is God’s vice-regent on earth. There is a lot abuse that goes unreported simplybecause RCs hold their priests in godlike reverence and are more concerned about the damage that negativepublicity would do to their church, than the well-being of their children.
So I am assuming that what you are trying to say is that the explosion of homosexuality here is the cause of the Catholic Church and that we should send the church away so that homosexuality can also go away.
Well! You seem to have a bias against the catholic church which you are venting here and I would really like to know what religion you support.
I attended the catholic church and was schooled in catholic schools and throughout my 67 years I never encountered any Priest that tried to molest me in any way, so a few bad apples in a vast orchard is nothing out of the ordinary.
Every religion is equally guilty of molesting children and many religous leaders are equally guilty of having affairs with the spouses of other church members therefore whilst I will never agree with any child being molested by anyone I can not agree that the catholic church is worst than any other.
People simply expose the catholic church more and exploit it for money.
You failed to mention that reports of abuse seems to happen substantially more in a certain country where collecting money under false pretences is rampant.
Do not make any assumptions while you are under the influence of kool-aid.
The comments from (08:32) are ridiculous.
Who said anything about an "explosion of homosexuality here" being caused by the Catholic Church? What does this have to do with anything? Homosexuality is not sexual child abuse. They are two different things.
You describe this international scandal invoving thousands of cases of sexual abuse as "a few bad apples in a vast orchard". Either you do not pay attention to the news or loyalty to your church has clouded your vision. Read the stats. Something clearly is rotten within this organization.
You write that "every religion is equally guilty of molesting children". Sure, it probably does go on in most if not all religions. When people trust in goofs who claim to have a hotline to god in their bedroom, bad things can and do happen. But in modern times we have never seen anything like what the Catholic Church has been up to for the last 50 years.
You suggest that the Catholic Church is a victim: "People simply expose the catholic church more and exploit it for money."
Oh really, so why aren’t we seeing thousands of cases coming out involving Jewish rabbis? They have money. Why not Protestant preachers of wealthy mega-churches? Filthy rich televangelists? They have money liars and their lawyers would love to get. If this is all about money, and the Catholic Church is some sort of innocent victim, then why aren’t the con artists going after all these other targets too?
If you think this is just about the US and Europe, watch the headlines over the next several years. It is highly likely that thousands more cases of sexual child abuse by Catholic priests will come out in Africa, South America and the Caribbean. No sensible person doubts that it’s even worse there than in the US and Europe.
Just watch and see.
– The Pope is now a proven child molester protector and LIAR! However, this joker is supposedly the human closest to God?!
– The job description of a priest is perfectly aligned with the perversions of pedophiles.
– Child molestation cases in the church are NOT confined to 1 man vs 1 child scenarios. We now have Irish adult male (former) Catholics coming forward with their stories of being made the central nude, oiled, touched and buggered figure in nightly all-male group sex orgy sessions. (My point here is: What are the chances of 3, 4, 6, 8 random and unconnected commonly perverted adult males ending up working in the same institution – regardless of its genre? Again, there is something seriously amiss about the job description.)
– The Catholic church / Vatican is a mega-wealthy, mega-powerful, political powerhouse in the world today. Why would anyone actually expect it to act holy or righteous in any way whatsoever. It is inherently corrupt to its core – it has to be for no entity achieves such status by doing "God’s work" – at least not in the way that He outlined, but in the way of selfish, greedy men. (By the way, the same can be said of just about any organized and centralized religious group. A mass collection of men can never be wholly holy folks – never! Wake up.)
– This scandal is awash in global color politics as well. The church has a LONG-STANDING policy of rather than defrock and arrest, it "re-assigns" its accused and or guilty child molesting priests to Black and Brown regions of the world!Think Mexico, Brazil, Africa, India, Dom. Republic etc.
For example, there are actually right now tons of reports of child molestation throughout the Latin American and African countries but the media pays no attention to it – hence, many of you will think I am making up stories right now. Due to this policy one can rightly assume that logically there are far higher incidents of Catholic priest child molestation in the darker hued areas of the world compared to the region that currently hosts the current hoopla.
Here I witness the Catholic Church acting like any other typical powerful western entity of wealth, influence and politics – not much righteousness to be found here – keep it moving folks. Guilty verdict anyone? The Catholic Church has enacted this unstated policy for they are well aware that the media / people attention and repercussion for reports from non-white parts of the world will be non-existent or minimal at best.
This "scandal" is really only a scandal because these reports of abuse are within the White (Germany, Austria, Ireland, England, Spain, USA) community. While it is good that little Haiko in Berlin, and Simon in Manchester will now hopefully be better protected – what about little Anup in Mumbai, Yemi in Lagos or Paolo in Rio De Janeiro??
More importantly – do any of us really care?
(Just realized a rather interesting fact: If you happen to be a Caymanian Catholic (Caribbean / Latin American – aforementioned "brown region"), by way of simple statistics you and or your child is at a greater risk of being a victim of the Catholic church. Hey – don’t get mad at me … those are your entrusted "holy men" that made the rules and enacted the policy – talk to them.)
Wow, excellent post by "Whodatis". Absolutely true.
Children are more at risk from Catholic priests in the developing world because the priests can more easily get away with it thanks to less oversight, weaker legislation, and a weaker press.
Why in the world do parents expose their children to this organization?
I couldn’t help but recall the Morgan Heritage tune "Headline" when reading this ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN2b9UE68vA ). Particularly the preacher part:
Recent scandals in the "one true church" are brought to you by the same system of worship that created the;
Spanish Inqusition
Crusades
Untold wars throughout the world
Lets give them nukes and see if they can go ahead and create armagedden
Due to their ultra secretive nature it would be impossible to catalog the sins of the "one true church" . Any one with a laptop can spend the next ten years reading of the atrocities.
FORMER romanchatholic alterboy
current Christian
The bigger the centralized Church the more currupt
While your at it why don’t you look into how many school teachers have sexually exploited their students. We usually think immediately of male teachers seducing young girls, but there have been probably many more unreported cases of female teachers having inappropriate relationships with boys.
Because we are a male dominated and machismo society this is looked on as something to praise young boys for but it is abuse and exploitation.
Also, you need to look into how many teachers especially from overseas have introduced students to drugs. I know of many cases.
In fact, should there be drug screening for teachers in both public and private schools? I mean we don’t want taxi drivers and tour bus operators high on the job…then why should we have teachers doing the same?
Anybody placed in a position of trust should expect a higher level of scrutiny. And while the Catholic Church has its fair share of problems with breaching trust, we shouldn’t let others get away from the ‘witch-hunt’.
Far too often, I find it necessary to state the obvious. Anyhow, there are good reasons why God made us male and female, so, the Catholic Church should henceforth permit priests to marry, as God intended.
We are no more aware of God’s intentions than we are his thoughts. This isn’t a problem restricted to the Catholic Church. God gave men the responsibility to control their desires. It was once believed that men cannot control their desires so the onus was on the woman to not tempt, therefore the woman was punished for being raped. The point of this being that priests, married or not, must control their desires, so too should all men, married or not.
1 Corinthians 7:8-9 (KJV) reads: "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn."
Deuteronomy 25:11-12 (NIV) reads: "If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."
We shall now read from the Holy Bible, Book of Ezekiel:
Hey according to 9.31 God told us himself to cook with our own crap.
Marriage is more than just to extinguish one’s sexual passion. ForPaul, it seems marriage had nothing to do with love.
Corinthians also has passages which place women as second class citizens.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 – Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
1 Corinthians 11:4-7 – Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
These words were written by a man, a man just like the pope – neither enlightened by God, both imperfect creations. These words fit into a different time, a different culture.
I respect that you believe in what you’ve written and your reasons for posting it. But, I must, respectfully, decline to agree with much written in Corinthians, including that of your post.
" For Paul, it seems marriage had nothing to do with love.
Corinthians also has passages which place women as second class citizens".
This is an example of soneone looking for proof texts to justify prejudice rather than to find the true meaning.
In Ephesians 5 Paul says:
I don’t think it is obvious that "God" created anything, let alone that it devised sexual reproduction as a means of advancing natural selection.
Saying that, letting priests marry would probably swell the pool of recruits.
Clearly you do not view the Bible as the written word of God, but I do.
Mr. Warren is correct 100 percent.
God intended for every man to marry four wives. Celibacy is for idol worshipers. Those who doubt this need only read his perfect book, The Holy Koran, given to us by his prophet Mohammed, peace be upon his name. It is the only source of pure truth on Earth.
Bless you Mr. Warren. Please continue spreading God’s truth.
So how come there are still so many cases of incest and abuse of young women and Girls perpetrated by married men? Pedophilia is WRONG and is sadly not limited to the clergy, Roman Catholic or Baptist or otherwise, but committed by twisted cowardly bullies and perverts.
We should turn our attention to rooting this out wherever and when ever it occurs, punishing offenders by turning them over to the law, and supporting victims however we can.
Creepy
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/us/12abuse.html?ref=todayspaper
This whole sad issue is very simple for the Catholic Church to resolve: get rid of that stupid demand that priests be celibate -men can’t be, if they don’t get it from women or their hand they get it somewhere else. As things are presently arranged it’s a magnet for homosexuals and boy molesters (they have "altar boys"as part of their structure for goodness sake! A bunch of old men in Rome with odd hats and costumes who have probably a few magazines under their beds they wouldn’t want people to see are hardly going to solve this awful issue.
The post from "Uncommon Sense", understandable as it is from an angry no doubt honourable local Catholic, should be treated with a grain of salt. Your Church, sir/madam, messed up MASSIVELY; it’s not just "those were the times in the world back then when all forms of abuse were not spoken about". You do your church no service with this sort of – well – cover up/justification.
I assume you mean the boy molesters are homosexual. It’s not called homosexuality in that case, it’s called paedophilia. There have also been cases of abuse of girls by priests. That too is called paedophilia, not heterosexuality. So, all in all, you mean it’s a magnet for paedophiles.
Point taken 7;41. I did not mean boy molesters are homosexuals (I know better than to say that) but I had in mind that the Catholic Church has altar boys not altar girls and so it is the boys who usually suffer. But I accept that girls have been abused too.
By the way, why do we not talk of homosexual paedophiles and heterosexual paedophiles?
Because a paedophile is a paedophile and a homosexual is a homosexual. One does not necessarily have anything to do with the other
Distinguishing between homosexual paedophiles and heterosexual paedophiles does not change the gravity of the crime, therefore it is irrelevant. They are both paedophiles regardless of the gender of the victim and should be punished the same. I don’t think that just because the victim is a boy and the perpetrator a man that the public should be more outraged than if the victim were a girl and the perpetrator a man. Both crimes should be equally as abhorrent to society.
All religions (and many other organizations) likely have some guilt in the molestation/crimes spoken of. However, the Catholic religion has spent many hundreds of millions over decades to "cover-up" these abuses/crimes. This from a religious organization that projects it’s highest person (the Pope) as some form of human God. Now when it is uncovered that this person (and other high level catholics) knew of these crimes and took part in covering them up (or turned a blind eye) then it is no wonder that it is sensational news.
But i don’t blame the media here like some are suggesting, i thank the media, and place the blame where it belongs…sqaurely with the church!
I believe that such ugly abuses and crimes have been uncovered precisely because God willed it to be uncovered, in spite of those in power at the church. Because they were/are behaving more like criminals/poiticians than like men of God.
The sexual and physical abuse of children and young people is a global plague; its manifestations run the gamut from fondling by teachers to rape by uncles to kidnapping-and-sex-trafficking. In the United States alone, there are reportedly some 39 million victims of childhood sexual abuse. Forty to sixty percent were abused by family members, including stepfathers and live-in boyfriends of a child’s mother—thus suggesting that abused children are the principal victims of the sexual revolution, the breakdown of marriage, and the hook-up culture. Hofstra University professor Charol Shakeshaft reports that 6-10 percent of public school students have been molested in recent years—some 290,000 between 1991 and 2000.
According to other recent studies, 2 percent of sex abuse offenders were Catholic priests—a phenomenon that spiked between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s but seems to have virtually disappeared (six credible cases of clerical sexual abuse in 2009 were reported in the U.S. bishops’ annual audit, in a Church of some 65,000,000 members).
"According to other recent studies, 2 percent of sex abuse offenders were Catholic priests"
Does the study go on to say how many children were involved? 1 per priest? 2 perhaps? 100? more?? Yes, children are abused. But the numbers of them who are and, or, were abused by priests is the relevant issue.
It must also be understood that this is not sexual abuse by itself, although that is hideous enough.. but SPIRITUAL abuse by a representative of God.
Can someone get over that? Ever?? Where does one go for comfort? It’s a relevant question.
"(six credible cases of clerical sexual abuse in 2009 were reported in the —- U.S. bishops’ annual audit."
No comment.
Abused children are the victims of a human problem which spans centuries. Whilst family dynamics have changed in the past 100years, the abuse of children continue. This isn’t a phenomenon that came with the 20th century. It spans the globe and it spans history. We need to work harder to protect the children.
Cayman Conscience dosome research and you would findit is not isolated within the Catholic Church. I think the reason you hear about it so frequently in the US is that once this type of tragedy is exposed the media will report on it to the bitter end. I think it absolutely ridiculous to single out the Catholic Church for sexual abuse of children. I’m not Catholic, but I am smart enough to know that the Catholic Church has more money than the Baptist, Seventh Day Avdentist or Methodist churches combined, so their scandles are reported on more frequently and settlements are reached to keep it quiet.Wow parents making money off of their child’s molestation. I wonder how much of that goes towards therapy. I attended a medium size Baptist Church in the US for 5 years and we had a guy that was accused, found guilty, and went to prision for molesting 4 young girls (ages 11-14), but you didn’t hear his name on CNN, Fox, etc.. only on our local channell.
I never hear about sexual crimes against children in Cayman. One can only guess because either it isn’t reported and therefore not prosecuted or it doesn’t occur. I seriously doubt with a population this size that it doesn’t occur.
First of all, by the tone of this letter I can clearly sense bitterness and anger, I really hope theirs plan in the making to seek spiritual rejuvenation.
You also asked the perfect question: Why would any parents continue t involve their child in an organisation like this. I myself am a parent to two boys, am i afraid to send them to church – NO, am I gonna stop sending them to church – NO. As a parents it is my responsibilty the onus is defenitely on me, to have open communication with my kids about the privacy of the body. Sexual misbehaviour has been taking place all over the world with all different denomination. However, due to the fact that the Catholic population is predominatly larger they will have to feel the blunt of it. Priest are no more culpable than their protestant counterparts.I personally am against pervert, paedophills, sexual predators, or any form of abuse.
Also I don’t have a problem with an investigation taking place, but let it me across the board with all churches and institutions being subjected to.
The previous poster (14:48) condemns Caymanian Conscience for having a tone of "bitterness and anger".
Yeah, what a jerk that Caymanian Conscience is. He or she should take on a tone of happiness and joy when writing about the sexual molestation of thousands of children by Catholic priests.
For those who think Cayman Conscience merely has an ax to grind and that these warnings are without basis with regard to Cayman perhaps it is true. Let’s hope so. Many others in similar communities have approached this obvious problem with the Catholic Church in the same way….It could never happen here.
Here is the story of one such community:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/deliver-us-from-evil/
And it isn’t only the Catholic Church. The Anglican, Protestant, and United Churches were responsible for this:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/unrepentant-kevin-annett-canadas-genocide/
Caymanian Conscience, it’s evident that you did a fair bit of research into the Archdiocese of Detroit, but currently on the home page of their website the article in the link below is present. I hope you also took the time to readit. If by chance you didn’t please do so.
http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/Safe+Environments+14627/SexualAbusePolicySummary.htm
I read it. Don’t get your point.
You wouldn’t get the point because you don’t want to get it.
Here’s a link from the St. Ignatius School’s Website. St. Ignatius School and Church has what is called a Safe Enviroments Policy to protect children and everyone who may be vulnerable to abuse:http://st-ignatius.com.ky/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=73&Itemid=117.
St. Ignatius has been very proactive with this issue.
While that may be encouraging, one has to ask if we can really trust these people to police their own house. Clearly they have failed in the past.
And your point? Can you trust politicians to police theselves? Can you trust judges whereever they are from to police themselves?
The working structure of the Catholic Church in the Cayman Islands is different than its American counterparts. For instance, the priests in Cayman do not teach and spend minimal time with the altar boys as it is during rehearsals, when parents are present. The school is taught and ultimately run by lay people. Some are Catholic and some are not. If it would make you feel better request for an investigation, but why stop at the Catholic Church? Do it for all churches, especially the ones affiliated with schools.
If you understand how media and scandals work, it goes hand in hand with money. Unfortunately the Catholic Church as an institution has a substantial balance sheet. America as a pro-litigating society encourages compensation for anything, Google the Macdonald’s case and the hot coffee. This is not to say that molestation is something to be swept under the rug. In fact it is good that this is coming out in the media; let us not forget that people only read/watch what is interesting. Other churches or institutions that do not have the financial backing to pay off the people and had a scandal do not make the media. This is purely because it would be boring, where is the scandal? Molesting/sexually abusing a child is unfortunately very common. It happens every day around the world within families, institutions, organizations schools and churches. The media is taking this by storm because of the dollar value that the church is able to pay. Think Michael Jackson, it was never proven either way if he did or not. But the media took and ran with the story because he paid a lot of money.
Also let’s not forget, the United States definition of harassment/prejudice etc of any sort is so skewed. Think spanking a child. I spank my child, but if I did that in the United States in public, I would probably be arrested for child abuse.
Interpret what you read and see with a grain of salt. If we all believed what the media said, then the Cayman Islands is really the biggest money laundering jurisdiction in the world and a place with lax laws. When in reality the United States is the biggest money laundering jurisdiction, and all of the developed countries have the least stringent laws in place.
It goes without saying if you point the finger at someone else; take a look in your own backyard. Is this article really about child molestation and child abuse? Or is it just to write an interesting article aka read ‘scandal’.
Hmmmm… you attempt to explain thousands of sexual abuse cases as nothing more than a byproduct of the litigious nature of American society.
You suggest that the Catholic Church is no different than any other institution when it comes child abuse. (Strange how so many other wealthy organisations don’t have thousands of their employees facing child abuse charges)
And you attempt to lump priests raping children in with parents spanking their children.
You aren’t the current pope by any chance, are you?
I am not a Catholic but this article sure sounds anti-catholic to me! This is not a problem that relates only to the Catholic Church Parents should be aware that the possibility of their child being abused arises whenever they put that child in the care (even temporarily) of someone (anyone) else. Abuse knows no religion! The most parents can do is to educate their children as to what is and is not acceptable and bring them up in an atmosphere where they feel free to talk about anything that is bothering them. Abuse, ignorance, fear and silence are all part of the vicious cycle that can only be broken by awareness, education and communication.
If one restaurant would have a high rate of known food poisoning cases, would you stop going to that restaurant, or would you stop going go ANY restaurant alltogether???
Can you read? This viewpoint is not an accusation. It is a warning.
i was born a catholic, who now hates probably 90% of what it the church stands for.. The hypocrisy of this church has been mind blowing over the years. I am obviously not a catholic and would not my children to be brainwashed by any organised reigion….
however this article is calling for an investigation into a local parish with absolutly no basis whatsoever…apart from association with the catholic church…
it’s the equivalent of me calling for an investigation into child abuse by CNS staff because some other journalists on island have been found guiltly of abusing children…
this article unfairly attaches a stigma to local church and school….t
You were not "born a Catholic".
No one is "born" into any religion. One has to be taught it.
Perhaps the poster means born into a Catholic family and brought up as a Catholic.
the catholic church deserves every bit of criticisim it gets… for years they had the gall to preach on morality and the evils of human sexuality while at the same time they provided a haven for pedophiles…
like most organised religions they lost touch with the true teachings of chriatianity a long time ago
however this article does sound like somebody with an axe to grind… where is the evidence or allegation of abuse in cayman by the catholic church????
That’s your problem, because the church doesn’t bend on issues of morality you believe it is ok to bring it down. The Church will never die because it is of God. The gates of hell will not prevail against it.
"…the church doesn’t bend on issues of morality…"
This is a joke, right? A wind-up post? The church lets priests molest children and then actively hides and protects the molestors, and you say it doesn’t bend on issues of morality????
If the argument were correct that the church were equated to God, as in "equal to" or "of God" as you say it, then God would be "equal to" the moral abomination that is child molestation. Surely that is wrong, as the very concept of "God" is perfection. The church is clearly not identical to God (and it is corrupt beyond redemption), and God will survive quite well the extinguishment of the church.
This is a wind-up post for sure.
Mr Tan
of course it will never die… as long as it maintains it’s control over people and children through means of fear, guilt, punishment…
the church only survives because of its ability to brainwash young kids…
no child of mine will ever be brainwashed by an organised religion!
I don’t believe that "the church" is of God…God is in the heart of men and women not in the institution..the presence of God is within us when we search for it not in a physical establishment
Child molestation problems in Cayman goes far beyond the Catholic church…it’s among families…i hear of so many cases of this being ignored and dismissed..y is this problem so easy to ignore when it’s so terrible and in serious need of being addressed..it makes me so very sad
This reminds me:
Ad extirpanda (named for its Latin incipit) was a papal bull, promulgated on May 15, 1252, by Pope Innocent IV, which explicitly authorized (and defined the appropriate circumstances for) the use of torture by the Inquisition for eliciting confessions from heretics. Angéle de la Barthe (c.1230 – 1275) was accused by Inquisitor Hugo de Beniols of having sexual intercourse with the Devil and giving birth to a flesh eating monster with a wolf’s head and a serpent’s tail, whose sole food consisted of babies. She was found guilty and burned alive.
Also of concern:
Where has the outcry and demand for justice by the major governments of the world, (say G20 countries) been against the "Catholic" religion as an organization? Surely this organization needs to do more than just pay off it’s victims! Any other organization would be requied to "re-structure" on a wholesale level, yet for the Catholic religion it seems "same old, same old". Maybe too large a voting block to do anything about???
And i agree with you wholeheartedly on questioning why people would continue to support an organization that thinks so little of innocent children, while holding themselves out to be human gods???
But then again, none of this is truly surprising as it is all about power and greed and selfishness and politricks. So the defenceless children get used and abused and the priests and politicians get what they want…illegal sex and votes. "Hush little children".
Is it any wonder why so many people today have such a low opinion of organized religion? Because there has also been no real outcry by other religions against the Catholic organization’s aiding and abetting and harbouring criminal activity and criminals! And then moving these criminas onto other areas to continue their crminal and ungodly behavior!
The catholic religion shold be made to answer to the people, in a real and meaningful way!…much more so than it has done so thus far.
Caymanian Conscience:
Why should I fear for my children if I don’t send them to the Catholic Church?
Of course, I believe in Justice, but tell me what percentage of your audience is Catholic???
(a) They might be lured in, perhaps? Seriously though,
(b) Damage to any of our children damages the whole of our society. I would have expected that to be self-evident.
(c) Why should there be a survey of the percentage of catholics reading the piece? Why would that be relevant? It’s not catholics per se that are diddling our childeren- it’s the priests (and not all of them, one would hope and presume).
(d) You capitalize "justice" like it’s a proper name or perhaps a Platonic immutable "form". Justice is just what people do collectively so that individuals don’t pick up guns, it’s not a concept of any perfection or ideal. That’s what the appeal courts are for.
Got fish?
You have a point about the need to investigate into the Catholic Church here.
However, it is evident that you do have an axe to grind as well.
It is with interest that in the author’s attack on the Catholic Church in Grand Cayman does not appear to be grounded in any factual information that in fact relate to the local community. It appears that many assumptions have been made and that all reference material have been drawn from places overseas. Surely, out of the tens of thousands of Catholic Church with its millions of of followers, that all of them were not molested. Yes, it is true that the Catholic Church hierarchy failed dismally during the past decades to deal with these atrocities and they are coming back to haunt them. These acts on innocent children were atrocious but sad to say, those were the times in the world,back them where all forms of abuse were not spoken about, rarely reported thank God we are in an age of enlightenment and have the resources to deal with these things.
However, as an aside, is innapriate to make such overt allegations in a public forum and put forth no evidence to support your claim. Even if this is a warning, is it a warning only for the local catholic church? what about other schools, children in homes the rest of the community? There are ways to do things and it appears that the intent of this letter was to malign unduly in a public forum an organistion that that person has personal feelings about. To the author, since you are so concerned, maybe you should arange a meeting with the Church to raise your concerns and see what policies or programmes they have in place – put your money where your mouth is so to speak.
But alas, i fear that that may not happen as me thinks, this article is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, an attack under the cover of a "warning".
I am also surprised at CNS for permitting such a spurious allegation against a local organisation without verifying facts or ensuring that the article does not unduly offend the local organisation based on unfounded facts. A word for CNS, if you wish to maintain the integrity of your news service you may need to more carefully scrutnise what you permit on your service.
CNS: The Viewpoint did not contain a single allegation, spurious or otherwise, and therefore there were no facts verify.
The post makes perfect sense to me