SEAKEN,
You asked
Is there a correlation between priestly authority and pedohile[sic] cover up?
I believe there is, in a way, but not because of the position of authority of the priest over the communicant. Or because the Church has authority over man's salvation and thus by extension its local representative can coerce people into submission. Rather, it is because the priest is believed to have been called of God -- almost like an "anointed" one among the Witnesses -- and therefore to be more
holy than the average Catholic.
Because priests at all levels are looked upon as 'holy' men, one expects their conduct to be holy and pure with regards to children.
There is a trust there, between church members and priests.
(Think of the old days at District Conventions. One could leave one's purse or billfold on a seat or in a jacket pocket and fully expect it to be there when one returned after the midday lunch break. WHY? Because one was among "God's people" and "God's people" were honest, not greedy, and one could depend on that.)
In the same way, most Catholics trust that their priests, nuns, monks, brothers, etc., are righteous and on a plane high above them so that they do not concern themselves overmuch with mundane things, or earthy desires.
So, when a holy one in the church actually betrays that trust, it's difficult to believe, admit and to reconcile with the ingrained image of how a 'called', spiritual person is SUPPOSED to act. And somehow that is much worse than your reprobate neighbor or drunken old Uncle Larry performing the same crime. Pedophilia is just not EXPECTED behavior by a holy man (or woman).
I also think that pedophile priests KNOW this unearned measure of trust will be given them and that they cunningly and secretively USE that knowledge to feed their need for child victims. They ingratiate themselves with the families of their potential victims, and use that "Oh, he's so warm and loving and concerned!" response to get the normal, natural parental guard lowered. And when Mommy and Daddy trust someone implicitly, how difficult is it for the [usually quite young] child to even conceive of telling Mommy and Daddy -- who are still seen to be infallible by the child -- that they are just WRONG!!!
You further query:
Is there the same kind of mind control in the Catholic Church, with respect to authority and God's power, as there is in cults like the JW's? Do Catholics believe that to question their priests authority is to question their direct relationship with God? Is there a correlation, among the Catholic Church, between the apparent cover-ups of pedophilia and the direct godly authority of these priests?
I would have to say, No, No, and No.
Catholics do not teach that salvation comes from the Church, but rather that salvation comes from God and the Church explains and reinforces the faith of its members in that salvation.
While the Church is thought to be infallible on matters of doctrine and morals as far as divinely revealed, and adherents are urged to subsume their individual consciences to the good of mankind as a whole, PART THREE, Section One, Chapter One of the catechism is entitled "The Dignity of the Human Person."
Under Article Six, Moral Conscience, Section 1, Paragraph 1782 states:
Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience, especially in religious matters." (Bolding and italics mine.)
Compare that to the Watchtower's 'Don't even THINK independent thoughts!'
As regards cover-ups correlating with "direct godly authority"? I think the Catholic Church has swept the abuses under the rug for the same reason the WTBTS has: They do not want reproach to come upon the organization. Child abuse is a positively HEINOUS crime, and should have no place in ANY supposedly holy church.
outnfree
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts -- John Wooden
