Friday, September 07, 2018

What about female abuse victims?

One criticism I've run across regarding the Catholic abuse scandal is neglect of the female victims:

i) I'm no expert on the demographics, but it may well be the case that in the past a higher percentage of Catholic clergymen were straight. I believe there was a custom in some Catholic communities with large families to dedicate one son to the priesthood. He was groomed for the priesthood. Pressured to become a priest. That wasn't motivated by an inner sense of vocation, but a desire not to disappoint your parents, aunts, parish priest, &c. Don't let the team down.

As a result, you probably had many straight priests who were never devoted to chastity. Indeed, priests who weren't genuinely pious, but only went into the priesthood because it was a tradition among some Catholic ethnicities to arbitrarily designate one son as a priest-to-be. 

It's not surprising if some of them had mistresses. Frequented brothels. Had affairs with nuns. Whatever. 

ii) However, it seems that far fewer straight men these days are prepared to sacrifice a normal family life for the priesthood. If so, it's not surprising if the incidence of sexual abuse has shifted from more heterosexual cases to more homosexual cases. And it's natural to focus on the present rather than the past since it's too late to rectify the past.

iii) In addition, there's a difference between isolated cases and a pattern of abuse. Not that isolated cases are insignificant, but those are harder to prevent. By contrast, a pattern implies some interrelated factors. It may be possible to break a pattern whereas isolated cases are unpredictable. 

iv) We need to engage in tree-thinning to better see the isolated cases, which are obscured by a more systematic pattern. If one can eliminate the larger problem, then it's easier to refocus attention on the smaller problem.

v) A certain amount of sexual abuse is unavoidable, both inside and outside the church. Some sexual abuse can only be punished, not prevented. 

But we need to distinguish between gratuitous risk factors and necessary risk factors. Ordaining known homosexuals is a gratuitous risk. Eliminating gratuitous risk factors makes it easier to concentrate on normal cases. Currently the church of Rome is overwhelmed. 

vi) There's a distinction between sexual sins and sexual crimes. A straight priest with a mistress is committing a sin but not a crime. Consenting adults. 

Adults seducing minors is a crime, not merely a sin. Raping prepubescent boys and girls is a crime, not merely a sin. 

Mind you, I think the church of Rome may well have crossed a line of no return. It's like a hull breach. Once a ship takes on too much water, it will capsize. Once the hull begins filling with water, there's a point beyond which that's irreversible. It will continue to fill until it sinks. 

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