Hi Ya'll. I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. Thankfully it is raining here after 2 months of dry weather. The question I have is this: Why does the media focus so hard on the Catholic clergy that abuse children? It isn't only the Catholic Church that has these kinds of things going on. Matter of fact there are more cases reported of abuse in secular soceity than in any church. But to make a point, we live in a small town of about 10,000 people and there were 4 articles written in our local papers about pastors of diffrent churches in our area that were charged with aggrivated child molestation. Not one of the reports was about the Catholic church. I believe 3 were Baptist and one was a Church of God. Then a few months after that report came out another report came out that a neighboring town (same county as us) with a population of about 500 people has an Assembley of God pastor charged with 7 (yes I said 7) counts of aggrivated child molestation. Why does the media not jump on this and report about all the abuses in protestant churches? Why not drag them through the mud? Now, I am not saying I want any group dragged through the mud, I am only trying to make a point that Catholic clergy are NOT the only ones abusing children, but they are the only ones that have the media focus on them. And also why not report the steps the Church is taking to prevent further abuses, and then drop it? I mean seriously, those men who did this have done a horrible thing and should and will pay for their crimes, but why dwell on the Catholic Church when there are others as well?

Thanks and glory be to God!

-- Suzanne (james-betsy@sbcglobal.net), October 09, 2004

Answers

Actually the media does attack all Christain institutions. However, abuses that tale plac ein a small area arent deemed newsworthy. If, for instace, a Catholic Prots molested a child in rinky Dink dayton Tennessee, it likely wudl make local news, but not national, sicn tis nto a High profile area. Cotnrast this to the pal;ces where it occured and made world news, New York, Michegan, ect...

That said, the reason secular institutions are largley ignroed and Chruches, particularly the Catholic Chruc of late, are so storngly emphasised is because of a growing anti-Christain sentement in the media.

Newsmedia often goes out of its way to protray dedicated, devour Christaisn as closed midned, hateful bogots , who ar elarlgey Hypocritical and possibely dangerous to society.

Most News Media personell are Liberals, and Christain values are seen as outdated and not in keepign with the tolerence of the age, therefore it is perfeclty acceptable to show christainity as a dangerous cult.

Secular institutions largley support the Liberal agenda. Schools yeach Liberalism and indoctornate our young, yet arent allowed to hodl prayer meetigns, or any form of religious invovlement.

Universities are the same way. They indocotrnat einto Liberalism , materialism, and Hmansm. Abuses in those isntetutions wodul not be reported as it woudl cuse confednce in those gorups to be lwoered.

Since they are seen as allies and needed t spread the way of life of the liberal, tey are laegley unreported.

Chruches, on the other hand, are sen as the enemy.

its abotu public perception relaly. If they can get peopel to see the hcurhces as evil, hypocritical cults which molest children and do damage, tbey can destory confedence in them. Meanwhile they try to present things thta agree with them in ta positive light to make peopels confedence grow in them.

May be underhanded, but i is the truth.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), October 09, 2004.

You are certainly right Suzanne. Not only are there just as many cases of non-Catholic clergy molesting children as Catholic clergy (a very small percentage in either case), but there are far more cases involving coaches, guidance counsellors, youth ministers, scout leaders, teachers, and others. Not to mention parents, grandparents, uncles, and other family members. However, the secular press doesn't have an agenda to discredit such organizations, while it has a clear agenda to discredit Christianity in general, and the Catholic Church in particular. The Catholic Church stands as the one great obstacle to the liberal media's pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality, pro-fornication, pro-adultery, pro-divorce, anti-family, anti-religion, hedonistic, amoral agenda; so they never pass up an opportunity to attack it. The Protestant pastors you mentioned made the local papers, but I'm sure none of them made national news. Catholic priests who commit similar crimes frequently do. That's why people have been duped into associating Catholic priests with this kind of criminal behavior - because every person in the country gets to hear about virtually every case in the country involving a Catholic priest, but very few other cases, except on a local level.

Last year in the city where I live a man in his 30's with a long history of criminal behavior stabbed and killed another man outside a bar. The article in the local newspaper mentioned that the killer was "a former altar boy". I wonder why he was not identified as "a former cub scout" or "a former little league baseball player" - terms which would have been equally irrelevant. Obviously because it was one more small opportunity to connect someone despicable, however tenuously, with the Catholic Church. They never pass up an opportunity to denigrate God's Church.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), October 09, 2004.