Betrayal of Trust:Clergy Abuse of Children(book online)

by Seven 6 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  Seven

  Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children written by Annie Laurie Gaylor and published in 1988 is available online in it's entirety at http://www.ffrf.org/betrayaloftrust.html Now out of print, it was the first book of it's kind "citing cases dating to the 1980's, it unfortunately is not out-of-date. All too little has changed."

  Victims of abuse deserve social justice. None of this can be achieved in an atmosphere of secrecy or collusion. Where negligence, cover-up, emotional and physical harm are involved, civil lawsuits should be undertaken. Churches have only started to acknowledge that a problem exists when their pocketbooks have told them so. Financial culpability will ultimately make church officials and church offenders responsible for their actions.
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  patio34

  Hi 7 of 9!

  Thanks for putting that up. The pocket book is what gets most people in the end, it seems to me.

  Pat
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  Seven

  Hi Pat,

  Thanks for your reply. It is more than a bit discouraging to discover that 15 years ago there were as many cases in the courts and in the news as there are now and yet it failed to capture the attention of the nation's media or public. The lawmakers were surely aware of of this and little or nothing was done. It appears that children's rights advocates have always had to fight an uphill battle, especially where religion was involved.

  More from the book:

  "Syndicated advice columnists routinely recommend that people seek ministerial help, yet there is no guarantee a pastor who counsels has had any professional training. To be a legal minister, someone simply has to be ordained by a local church that is recognized by the state. The church can have any requirements, or no requirements. Some people who call themselves ministers are merely self-appointed or self-ordained, claiming "ordination from God." While some ministers actually have professional counseling licenses or academic credits, others have none. Just because a pastoral counselor has a higher education or a license does not guarantee he is a nonabuser. Whatever can be imagined happens--both the best counseling situations, and the worst."-Gaylor
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  patio34

  That's really sad that people are sent to their clergyman and there's no real help there. You're right, the media should keep after it and that would drive the changes. The appropriate place for help is the LAW and its minions. It's unfortunate, too, that children are helpless victims and others may be slow coming to their assistance. Thanks again Seven.

  Pat
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  outnfree

  Seven,

  Thanks for the link. I'll bookmark it when I get home. All too true that the "leaders' among us are sometimes hiding their own vices or crimes, and VERY true that the clergy, for the most part, are NOT trained to deal with issues of abuse. Thanks for the excerpts, and thanks for your devotion. :)

  out
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  Big Tex

  Well to me what is so sad is that so many children keep being hurt and it is being covered over. On a gut level I do not understand protecting a pedophile at the expense of a child. There has to be a special place in hell for people like this.
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  Seven

  bttt

  A worthwhile read for those who didn't get a chance to bookmark the link over the weekend.

  seven