SeanAhern's Journal: Sexual abuse by teachers

A number of years ago, the Catholic clergy abuse scandal hit the press and things have never been the same. The Catholic Church (in America, primarily) was hit with lawsuit after lawsuit alleging abuse of minors. In most cases, these lawsuits were justified. The victims were never really believed when they made their initial allegations, or the perpetrators were shuffled from one job to another, never really receiving their just punishment.

However, the Catholic Church was unjustly painted with the "pedophile" label, with many critics heaping criticism upon the principles of celibacy. The argument went that, without another release for underlying sexual tension, priests turned to abuse of children. A small number of voices pointed out that the percentage of priests exhibiting this aberrant behavior was pretty much in line with other professionals, teachers, policemen, etc. That the percentage of priests in relation to the entire priesthood was pretty much the same as the percentage of sexual criminals in relation to the population as a whole. By and large, these voices were not heard or ignored when they were.

Well, it's been interesting recently to read about sexual abuse by teachers making the headlines. It's just as heinous as sexual abuse by members of the priesthood. Accused teachers shuffled from school district to school district, never really receiving the punishment they deserve.

From the article:

Lawmakers say they are concerned about an increasingly well-documented phenomenon: While the vast majority of America's teachers are committed professionals, there also is a persistent problem with sexual misconduct in U.S. schools. When abuse happens, administrators too often fail to let others know about it, and too many legal loopholes let offenders stay in the classroom.

Sounds very familiar to me.

I only hope that the people who levied such criticism upon members of the Catholic priesthood do so in equal measure to those others who we place in a position of trust, our teachers. However, I'm cynical enough to believe that this won't be the case.

In closing, I pray that the media attention paid to these types of scandals shines a spotlight upon this predatory abuse by any member or sector of society, religious or secular. I pray that all perpetrators are brought to justice and that the victims find some measure of relief and closure.

You make a good point

[superyooser]

Thanks for pointing that out. However, I think the reason that Catholic priests are painted with the "pedophile" label is because people expect them to have a much higher moral standard than common heathens. The display of hypocrisy coming from such a lofty, "holy" position is more brazen and incites more derision from those who see it. (I, for one, do not hold high expectations for Catholics.)

The most shocking thing about the scandals was how the Vatican was reluctant to punish the pedophile priests. Th

Re:

[johndiii]

From the viewpoint of an American Catholic, I think that you've got it mostly right. The hierarchy handled it abominably. I was a member of of a parish where one of the more notorious abusers was stationed for a while, so I have fairly close knowledge of some of what went on. The way that the Church handled the accusations has served to blacken the names of good priests as well as bad ones. There is a lot less trust in anyone further away in the hierarchy than the local pastor.

I think that a species of