Child sexual abuse and the church (adhere) international

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Patrick Parkinson
ABC Religion and EthicsUpdated 20 Dec 2012 (First posted 15 Nov 2012)

Restoring faith: Child sexual abuse and the

Church. There have been many priests and members of religious orders jailed, and many more

identified offenders who died without ever being brought to justice. We have witnessed a stream

of allegations for well over a decade now.

There are comparatively few allegations of child sexual abuse by ministers of religion in other

churches. There are some, as there are in all other organizations involved in work with children

and young people. With colleagues I have done a study of the prevalence of abuse in the

Anglican Church across Australia. I have some knowledge also of what has happened in other

churches. Reliable statistics are not available, but in my opinion, and based on the available data,

there has been around six times as much child sexual abuse by clergy and religious in the

Catholic Church as there is by ministers of religion in all the other churches in Australia

combined - and I would regard that as a conservative figure.

Admittedly, the Catholic Church is the largest denomination in Australia, and it is also one in

which priests and religious have been involved in schools and orphanages, unlike ministers of

other churches. Even still, the reality is that the levels of abuse in the Catholic Church are

strikingly out of proportion with any other church - and, from what I have seen, this is an
international pattern. That makes it inevitable that a great deal of the focus of the national royal

commission, so far as it concerns churches and faith-based organisations, is bound to be on the

Catholic Church. This is also so because of the very serious allegations raised first by the

Victorian Police and then echoed from the experience of a long-serving senior detective in NSW.

The allegations that some people in leadership within the Catholic Church have in comparatively

recent times dissuaded victims from going to the police, failed to report known criminal

misconduct where it had been admitted, or otherwise made more difficult the work of the police

and the criminal justice system in bringing offenders to justice, are matters of immense

seriousness.

The Church's protocol on dealing with complaints of abuse, Towards Healing, provides a form of

victims' compensation process; but it is not intended as some kind of alternative to the criminal

justice system as a way of dealing with offenders. Towards Healing is clear that victims should

be strongly encouraged to go to the police and, where appropriate, assisted to do so. Nothing

should be done to interfere with a police investigation and full cooperation with civil authorities

is required. Since I last reviewed it in 2009, there has also been a formal requirement to notify

the police of the complaint concerning the alleged offender even if the complainant declines to

go to the police. Section 37.4 of Towards Healing, states very clearly:

"In the case of an alleged criminal offence, if the complainant does not want to take the matter to

the police, all church personnel should nonetheless pass details of the complaint to the Director

of Professional Standards, who should provide information to the police other than giving those

details that could lead to the identification of the complainant."

complaints emerge against the same alleged offender. The law in NSW also imposes an

obligation to report the complaint to the Ombudsman in certain circumstances. One of the other

obligations in Towards Healing is that no victim should be bound by any pledge of secrecy in

relation to the abuse. The only requirement of confidentiality that can be imposed is about the

scale of any financial settlement. The allegations made by the police and others that some church

leaders have failed to abide by these standards must be investigated very thoroughly, and the

truth must come out fully.

It is important not to prejudge any issues that will be dealt with in this royal commission. There

have been many leaders in the Catholic Church who have been doing their best to deal with these

issues appropriately and to offer a compassionate and caring response to victims. I have certainly

had the impression that most church leaders have handled these issues appropriately and in

accordance with the Towards Healing protocol. Having said this, negotiations about money are

usually difficult, and sometimes what is intended as a restorative process can descend into little

more than a negotiation between lawyers and insurers. This will often leave people feeling

dissatisfied and hurt. The way in which some Church administrators and lawyers go about

dealing with these issues also needs a searchlight.

It is also important to put the issues in this royal commission into perspective. All the Churches,

and indeed all organisations working with children across Australia, have come a long way in the

last fifteen years or so. In 1997 my book, called Child Sexual Abuse and the Churches, I was

particularly anxious to explain the problems across the whole Christian community, and not just

the Catholic Church. I wrote at that stage that children were less likely to be protected in

churches than almost any other group in society. By this I did not mean that children were more
likely to be abused in churches than anywhere else, but that they were less likely to be protected

if they disclosed abuse. I also identified a whole range of reasons: the tendency to trust adults,

especially people that have been known for a long time; the importance of forgiveness in

Christian teaching; and the desire to protect the institution.

Much has happened to change this since 1997. The Wood Royal Commission in New South

Wales played a major role, as did the growing awareness that abuse was not just a problem for

the Catholic Church. All churches now are much safer places than they were. Denominations

take child protection seriously as an issue in the design and implementation of programs and the

training of volunteers. That is true of other organisations working with children such as the

Scouts.

However, the issues regarding the Catholic Church in particular, remain a festering wound

affecting the Australian community as a whole. There are undoubtedly issues in relation to other

churches, faiths and organisations working with children as well, that will also need to be

uncovered and explored.

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A Famine Of Adhering To God's Word

A Famine Of Adhering To God’s Word

Amos 8:11 – “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a
famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for
hearing the words of the Lord.”

The word "famine" is one of those words we should be familiar with upon reading the Old Testament
Scriptures. Famines, however, were not and are not limited to ancient times. Famines exist now. A
famine of brotherhood exists in the United States. A famine of freedom, liberty, and justice exists
throughout America. The prophet Amos realized famines were of various types and wrote: “Behold,
the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a
famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the
Lord” (Amos 8:11).

A similar famine exists in America today. It is a famine of adhering to God’s word. A famine of
adhering to God’s word is more detrimental and destructive to mankind than those of the flesh,
because famines of adhering to the word of God affect eternity. This famine is not brought on by
God, but rather it is fueled by individuals choosing to disregard the scriptures of the Lord as their
authority. Hosea, a contemporary of the prophet Amos, recognized this truth when he said, “My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have
rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you
have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

Men must know the truth if they are to be better and if the world is to be better off. However, truth,
as it relates to the soul and to salvation, is found only in the Bible. This fact reveals the necessity of
knowing what the Bible has to say to us today. It is unfortunate many people keep up with sports,
their favorite television program, the latest fashions, the status of race relations, politics, and the
advancements in the space program, but are behind in their knowledge of the Bible. The
overemphasis on these worldly pursuits gives rise to the famine of adhering to God’s word, because
one contributes to this famine through neglect and unpreparedness. Let us determine the extent to
which this famine exists at our house of Biblical information.

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know the word “reverend” is never used in the Bible as a religious title for preachers? Yet
this is a practice which is so ingrained in the minds of most people; that an effort to eliminate it
would immediately invite rejection and ridicule. But such reaction to the truth makes it nonetheless
true (Psalms 111:9).

Did you know mechanical instruments of music were never used in the public worship of the New
Testament church during the days of Jesus and His apostles? The fact almost everyone today uses
such instruments of music by no means justifies the practice. The Bible says, “Speak out to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices and
making melody with all your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19).

Did you know the Bible never speaks of, nor endorses denominational churches, but rather
condemns them for their creation of division while Christ prayed and pleaded for unity? Christ's
statement in John 17:21, “That they all may be one” is a divine denunciation of all forms of
division. The Bible only speaks of one body, the church (Colossians 1:18). The terms "Baptist
church," "Methodist church," "Pentecostal church," "Lutheran church," "Catholic church,"
"Congregational church," "Holiness church," "Kingdom Hall", are nowhere to be found in the Bible,
the Book of God. We are commanded to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). We can
never claim to "speak as the oracles of God" when we defiantly use such unscriptural expressions as
those listed.

Did you know salvation, the forgiveness of sins, before baptism or without baptism is never taught by
Jesus and His apostles after the giving of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20 & Mark
16:15-16) and the day of Pentecost (Acts 2)?

If you are seeking the truth, then the Wildercroft church of Christ is where you ought to be. Hear the
pure word of God preached as it is written in the Bible. Truth is what the world desperately needs.
Jesus said, "And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free" (John 8:32).
We encourage you to worship with us, a Christ-centered, Bible-centered family.