RE: Watford church leader Mike Pilavachi 'massaged young male interns'
September 13, 2023 at 1:31 am
Switzerland: Hundreds of sex abuse cases 'tip of the iceberg', say researchers
An official inquiry into the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland has identified nearly 1,000 cases of sexual abuse since 1950.
Many involved children and 56% of the victims were male, the report said. The vast majority of the accused were men.
Researchers from the University of Zurich also found evidence of a "widespread cover up".
"The cases we identified are without a doubt only the tip of the iceberg," said the study's leads.
A further 30% of abuse was found to have been committed in institutions including Catholic children's homes, day schools and boarding schools.
As well as documenting instances of sexual abuse, the researchers also looked at how Church officials dealt with these cases and said many were "kept secret, covered up or trivialised".
Their report criticised various officials, including bishops, for not doing more to help those affected.
Clerics accused of committing abuse were found to have been "systemically" reassigned to other posts by those in positions of power, sometimes abroad, to avoid being prosecuted.
"In doing so, the interests of the Catholic Church and its dignitaries were given precedence over the welfare and safety of parishioners."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66790394
An official inquiry into the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland has identified nearly 1,000 cases of sexual abuse since 1950.
Many involved children and 56% of the victims were male, the report said. The vast majority of the accused were men.
Researchers from the University of Zurich also found evidence of a "widespread cover up".
"The cases we identified are without a doubt only the tip of the iceberg," said the study's leads.
A further 30% of abuse was found to have been committed in institutions including Catholic children's homes, day schools and boarding schools.
As well as documenting instances of sexual abuse, the researchers also looked at how Church officials dealt with these cases and said many were "kept secret, covered up or trivialised".
Their report criticised various officials, including bishops, for not doing more to help those affected.
Clerics accused of committing abuse were found to have been "systemically" reassigned to other posts by those in positions of power, sometimes abroad, to avoid being prosecuted.
"In doing so, the interests of the Catholic Church and its dignitaries were given precedence over the welfare and safety of parishioners."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66790394
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
