Sex Abuse Scandals in the Catholic Church: Wolves Among Shepherds and Sheep
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep."
- John 10:14 Religion is frequently categorized as the sanctuary for the human psyche. Often times, people strive to strip bare their emotional inhibitions in order to more adequately bond with their creator. They seek to present themselves as humble innocent lambs to a divine creator who has forever promised to love and protect them as a shepherd-his flock. The occupation of shepherd to human souls has been passed down for centuries from Christ to his apostles, the original bishoprics, and unto their successors-modern day priests. The Roman Catholic Church has held tightly to this tradition; however over the past fifty years when young children knelt as sheep before their shepherd they met vile, sinful hands, not tender and compassionate ones. "Between 1950 and 2002 more than 10,667 boys and girls in the United States were victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic clergy. More that 4,392 Catholic priests and deacons were their abusers" ("Report on the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" 1). The church 's credibility and the trustworthiness of the Catholic clergy have been devastatingly effected. Because incidents of sexual abuse are vastly underreported, and because over 50 percent of those victims waited 20 years or longer to report past abuse, members of the Catholic Church in the United States are only beginning to understand the crisis that has occurred ("Report" 1). Explanations for the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church of the United States include: psychological disorders, societal pressures, sociological instability among individual priests, and willful ignorance by church hierarchy. The Catholic Church has often been labeled as a harbor for pedophiles. In order to understand the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal a clear and precise definition
- John 10:14 Religion is frequently categorized as the sanctuary for the human psyche. Often times, people strive to strip bare their emotional inhibitions in order to more adequately bond with their creator. They seek to present themselves as humble innocent lambs to a divine creator who has forever promised to love and protect them as a shepherd-his flock. The occupation of shepherd to human souls has been passed down for centuries from Christ to his apostles, the original bishoprics, and unto their successors-modern day priests. The Roman Catholic Church has held tightly to this tradition; however over the past fifty years when young children knelt as sheep before their shepherd they met vile, sinful hands, not tender and compassionate ones. "Between 1950 and 2002 more than 10,667 boys and girls in the United States were victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic clergy. More that 4,392 Catholic priests and deacons were their abusers" ("Report on the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" 1). The church 's credibility and the trustworthiness of the Catholic clergy have been devastatingly effected. Because incidents of sexual abuse are vastly underreported, and because over 50 percent of those victims waited 20 years or longer to report past abuse, members of the Catholic Church in the United States are only beginning to understand the crisis that has occurred ("Report" 1). Explanations for the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church of the United States include: psychological disorders, societal pressures, sociological instability among individual priests, and willful ignorance by church hierarchy. The Catholic Church has often been labeled as a harbor for pedophiles. In order to understand the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal a clear and precise definition
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