Canon fired

[Cyberman]

I second the emotion. Can you imagine the unholy row if, say, a teacher had done these things and been quietly parcelled off to a nearby school? Look at the mess with all the Jimmy Savile allegations, all the other household names that are being implicated. I've even seen a report claiming that Savile was investigated as a possible accomplice to the Yorkshire Ripper, for feck's sake. Ok, that was from the Daily Fail so the reliability is probably suspect, but it illustrates the sort of hysteria that these cases generally create. At least, when the Church isn't involved.

[worldslaziestbusker]

I don't blame religion for this stuff, I blame a cloistered heirarchical organisation known for closing ranks, keeping silent and quietly shuffling offenders to other parishes and fresh victims.

I do blame the religion in the sense that opportunities to molest would not arise as readily in these situations if the leaders were not accorded automatic respect and trust because of their job. I would not leave my children in the care of an engineer or a welder just because they were an engineer or a welder, but clergy get unchaperoned access to children simply because they get paid by a church and wear fancy dress.

Nice thread title, by the way. Punmanship counts for a lot, in my estimation.

[Aractus]

What about being alone with their GP? Bus Driver? Tutor? Music Teacher? Aunts and Uncles... the list goes on and on.

[Cyberman]

Yes it does. In the vast majority of those cases, the perpetrator is caught and convicted. In the vast majority of cases involving The Church, the perpetrators are shielded and shuffled around to new parishes and fresh victims. See the difference? In fact, about three years ago the RCC in Ireland (iirc) issued an injunction of sorts against a list of the accused priests being revealed not only to the press but to the community in general. Apart from suggesting heavily that the heirarchy is terrified and embarrassed about the inevitable public backlash, it also had the unintended effect that any priest, guilty or not, was on that list and what's more was prevented even from denying it.

I don't always agree with the person I'm about to quote, that's the nature of atheists I'm afraid. However, when (in 2010!) he said

The "they do it, too!" excuse simply does not work. That some teachers are pedophiles does not mean it is unfair to pick on the poor child-raping priests. Catholics claim a greater virtue, so they don't get to shuck all their guilt when they're caught red-handed, and in fact ought to be held to a higher standard, according to their own views; and there's also a significant difference between a priest and a secular professional. When a teacher gets caught diddling children, he will be arrested, fired, and banned from the profession. What we've learned is that when a Catholic priest fondles children, he'll get sheltered, paid off, and transferred to a new parish and a fresh collection of kids.

I applauded.

[Minimalist]

What about being alone with their GP? Bus Driver? Tutor? Music Teacher? Aunts and Uncles... the list goes on and on.

When caught those fuckers go to jail....they are not sent to another parish by Herr Von Popenfuhrer or his minions so they can keep fucking kids.

Surely, even you see the difference?

[worldslaziestbusker]

What about being alone with their GP? Bus Driver? Tutor? Music Teacher? Aunts and Uncles... the list goes on and on.

Those people have valuable qualifications with real world applications or have to demonstrate a track record of trustworthiness to justify their being trusted with the care of children. What's more, they will go to jail if they are caught betraying the trusts afforded to them.
Clergy get trusted because they wear clerical outfits, but that should not be the case and I am doing my bit to bring that mis-application of trust to an end.

[Gooders1002]

Has anyone mentioned the sentence yet? If not, I will:

4 years?!? Are you fucking kidding me?

I think this should happen to him.



everyday for 10 years.

[Lion IRC]

Ok, misleading title but I simply couldn't resist.

Yeah, because child rape/rapists is a light-hearted topic.

...Ronald Johns is actually the ex-canon of Carlisle Cathedral in Cumbria and he's just been jailed for four years for child molestation offences going back some thirty years....

thirty years? WOW !!!

If I suspected my child had been raped I wouldnt even wait thirty MINUTES to report it to the police!

...The victim had made an official complaint to the church in 1993.

Yeah, because thats what most rape victims (or their parents) do, they go and have a nice cup of tea and fireside chat with the head of the Churches PR Department.


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