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Child Abuse in the Catholic Church

             In recent years, an increasing amount of attention has been given to the problem of child sexual abuse in church communities. Most attention has focused on sexual abuse by priests, ministers, and members of religious groups. These people are representatives of the churches. Sexual abuse is perceived as a particularly shocking crime if committed by clergy because of the trust involved. Case after case has emerged in the press of clergy and members of church being charged with sex offences against children. In the Roman Catholic Church there have been over 800 priests that have been removed from ministry as a result of allegations against them. There are 1,400 known insurance claims on record and the Church has paid out over 1 billion dollars in liability with an estimated 500 million dollars pending (Sipe 28) This is not a new trend, some of these cases go back years or even decades. In most cases the offenders have been charged with multiple offences.
             Churches are very vulnerable to the problem of child sexual abuse since they have a large involvement in work with children and young people. There are Sunday Schools, youth groups, church affiliated boys and girls associations, holiday clubs, and church camps. Churches are the largest organized providers of activities for children outside of school offering an enormous amount of opportunities for people to work with children. Most of the youth group work is done by volunteers which are always needed. Teaching in Sunday School or running a youth group requires passion and commitment but no formal training. Anyone who is a member of a church is eligible to volunteer. The majority of people who volunteer to work with children are dedicated and give their time with only the best intentions. However, it is possible that churches attract people with a sexual interest in children. With that not surprising then that churches have a problem with child sexual abuse.


Essays Related to Child Abuse in the Catholic Church

1. Controversy in the Catholic Church

... mishaps with patrons of the church. The "Dallas Charter" is the document purged among the church officials to restore faith in the Catholic Church and the way that it corrects its mistakes. It presents a clear solution to the church sex scandal by enforcing the release of any convicted offender from the priesthood, recognizing the proper protocol for the priests and restoring faith in the church's ability to correct problems. Before the Dallas Charter could be ... would suggest that the priest is guilty and jeopardize his status with the public as being innocent until proven guilty (Mc...

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2. Catholic Church Sex Scandal

... as another Enron scam. However, it involves the Catholic Church and those hostile towards the Church will find it difficult to criticize SNAP and Linkup. Furthermore, Catholic Church attorneys are now being lectured for defending their clients in an aggressive manner. How are Catholics dealing with the effects of such a scandal? Most Catholics continue to be critical and suspicious of the institutional Church, even as they mourn over some of their ... that Drivon helped draft. As a result the law lifted the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse crimes, allowing Drivon to bring hu...

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3. Gender and the Roman Catholic Church

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4. The Road To Priestly Matrimony

... men has entered the seminary for the Lutheran Church. Along with the Lutheran church, the Eastern Catholic Church has allowed priests to marry for a number of years. Another case where priests are allowed to be married is if they join the Catholic Church from another faith and they are already married in their previous religion. The priests are not required to divorce their wife before joining the Catholic Church. "A reason that the priests are ... would have children, they would know what it meant to be a father. Priests would know the love and sincerity that you feel when you are aroun...

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5. Social Issue: Child Sexual Abuse

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6. Child Sexual Abuse

... by "premature sexual experiences- [Sigmund Freud, "The Aetiology of Hysteria,"" 1896]. Studies on child molestation began in the 1920s while the first national estimate of cases came out in 1948. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was enforced in 1974 along with the creation of the National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect. The National Child Abuse Coalition was formed in 1979 to pressure the congress to pass and implement laws.4 The Sexual Assault Resource Center reports that one ... , lawyers said. "In the past there was a minimum level of scrutiny to anything the church di...

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7. Substance Abuse

... consequences, that can include family problems, problems on the job, problems in school, legal problems, financial problems, and health problems. The use of tobacco products, alcohol, illegal drugs, and some prescription drugs can cause a broad range of social, legal, financial, and health problems. Alcohol and illegal drug use are associated with child and spousal abuse, sexually transmitted diseases - including HIV infection, teen pregnancy, school failure ... very different and contradict each other in many ways. The Catholic Church is solely opposed to the over indulgences in chemic...

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8. The Impact of the Protestant Reformation on The Holy Roman E

... instability that would persist throughout the Reformation era. "The Roman Catholic Church perhaps reached its low point in terms of moral example in the years surrounding the Reformation. As such, the ground was fertile for a backlash. The poor moral example started at the very top. For example, Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503) was known for throwing orgies in the Vatican. Alexander VI is most well known for fathering a child by his illegitimate daughter, Lucrezia ... : "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in he...

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9. The Corruption of Pope Alexander VI

... makes this situation even more interesting was he never married, and some of the children we have no idea what happened to or where they went! The woman he used the longest was Vannozza dei Cattani, whom he had four illegitimate with. (Murphy, Alexander VI) Interestingly enough Alexander VI had another child named Laura that was not with Vannozza but with Alexander VI's daughter ... very obvious demonstration of the pope's corruption and abuse of power. An additional priestly vow that Pope Alexander VI had broken was the vow of poverty. This vow was obviously not followed by Pope Alexan...

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