Insurers shed light on Protestant church sex abuse

[markomalley]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members.

The figures released to The Associated Press offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down — the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations.

Religious groups and victims' supporters have been keenly interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible accusations against Catholic clerics since 1950.

Protestant numbers have been harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church; indeed, many congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult.

*snip*

Joe Trull, editor of Christian Ethics Today and retired ethics professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, helped the Texas convention create its registry and says there are now about 11 cases involving clergy abuse with minors.

But he believes these are just the "tip of the iceberg" because churches don't have to report abuse cases to the registry and aren't likely to.

"The problem we're having is that churches just weren't sending the names," Trull said. "In the normal scenario, they just try to keep it secret. We're going to have to be more proactive and let them know if they don't come forward, they're helping to perpetuate this problem."

Source: Houston Chronicle

Reference the last part of the quoted article. I hope the Proddies figure it out quicker and better than the Catholics did...look what keeping things wrapped up in an effort to avoid scandal did for them!

[Sudo]

Mark,

I can understand your frustration at having all the attention on child molesters directed at Catholic priests. This article shows that perverts are in all religions. I hope that gives some comfort to your soul. Is it something about being a religious leader that makes them perverts? Or are perverts attracted to religious work? Another possibility is that the number of perverts in religious work is really about the same as the general population but that its the religious perverts who get all the press.

Which, if so, begs the question... does religion make someone a better person? Is there more or less murder, rape, corruption, perversion, stealing etc. in religious countries like America than in fairly non-religious countries like Sweden and Norway where church attendance is in the single digits?

sudo

[markomalley]

Sudo:

I hope that gives some comfort to your soul.

I can assure you 100% that it gives no comfort to my soul that children are being abused by any trusted person, be that trusted person a relative, a minister, or a teacher.

You ask good questions about religious leaders: Is it something about being a religious leader that makes them perverts? Or are perverts attracted to religious work? Another possibility is that the number of perverts in religious work is really about the same as the general population but that its the religious perverts who get all the press.

Frankly, it's not just religious leaders. It also includes teachers. It also includes relatives. There has been a lot of press about religious leaders, I think, because it is shocking. But there has also been a lot of that going on nowadays with teachers, too. Not just male teachers with cute young teenage girls, either:

This one, in Texas, was recently caught because her teenaged student lover had seminude pics of her on his cell phone.

This young lady was busted for having a relationship with a female student (and Sunday school student, btw)

This lass, from your home state, was also busted for having a relationship with a young girl.

Oh, by the way, all of those stories wre from the past month. (Trust me, there are plenty more where those three came from)

So, while it is undoubtedly a problem with religious leaders, the scope of it goes far beyond just religious leaders. The scope goes as far as to people in trust positions, whatever that position is.

Personally, Sudo, I think that it is a reflection on our society as a whole.

[Abigail]

Interesting, Mark. It is too bad we don't know the cause and therefore the cure for this problem.

[ChattyKathy]

If we could gather the real number of sexual abuse within families it would make all these religions look very small in comparison.

[templelady]

Sexual predators are just that, predators. A predator, all things being equal, chooses where he lives and works in large part based on how close prey is.

In the wild that means lions, and cheetahs follow and live around antelope herds. In the case of child molesters that means not only being around children but being ALONE around children.

A sure fire method of gaining access to children, other than your own or close family members' in a solitary situation is by entering a profession that will allow you access. Teachers, religious leaders, doctors, children activity leaders (ie Boy Scouts) all have this kind of opportunity. Couple that with the fact that most of us have a certain degree of reverence and respect for those people involved in these occupations and you have a tailor-made situation. Children are taught to respect and obey these authority figures. Most of us, even in this day and age, don't spend time in angst over whether or not our minister etc. is a child molester.

If the molester is able to gain the trust of the parents, and since this is essential to the predators success they are experts in gaining parental trust, then the likelihood that said parents will entrust their children to them is highly probable.

[ChattyKathy]

Good points Mo.