Australia: 7% of catholic priests have been accused of abusing children

7% of Australia’s Catholic priests were accused of abusing children in the six decades since 1950, according to new data from the royal commission.

The average age of alleged victims was around 11 years old.

The disturbing figures were revealed by senior counsel assisting, Gail Furness, SC. She also revealed that the Holy See had refused to hand over documents involving Australian priests accused of abuse.

“The royal commission hoped to gain an understanding of the action taken in each case,” Furness said. “The Holy See responded, on 1 July 2014, that it was ‘neither possible nor appropriate to provide the information requested’,” she said.

Furness said the responses of Catholic diocese and orders across the country were “depressingly similar”.

“Children were ignored or worse, punished. Allegations were not investigated. Priests and religious [brothers] were moved. The parishes or communities to which they were moved knew nothing of their past,” she said. “Documents were not kept or they were destroyed. Secrecy prevailed as did cover-ups.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/06/4444-victims-extent-of-abuse-in-catholic-church-in-australia-revealed?CMP=soc_567

As horrible as this is, and I don't want to sound like I'm minimizing the crimes of individual priests or the people helping cover up these crimes, the real problem imho is that our governments have allowed the church to run their own system of justice.

Each and every time there was an accusation, it should have been referred to and investigated by local police, and prosecuted through secular courts. Clergy who do not involve government legal authorities, or who do not cooperate and turn over evidence, should be charged with obstruction, "aiding and abetting", and other crimes which any other organisation would be held to.

We've allowed the church to run their own legal system as a hold-over from the middle ages; and it's really only because of the power of electronic media that we have shed light on how badly this arrangement is failing us.

It's interesting to note that child sex abuse is definitely more prevalent (proportionally) among the catholic priests than among the general population. If I was to hazard a guess as to how it started out I'd have thought sexual frustration from the celibacy likely plays a large part. And funnily enough there's no real biblical justification for priests to remain celibate at all. Absolutely **** all.

They devote their lives to helping their parishioners with only spiritual comfort to keep them warm at night.

7% of them have little boys keeping them warm, evidently

no.... if someone is "accused" of something it does not mean they did it.

I wonder not whether celibacy makes them want to touch little boys, but rather they have that urge and try to hide it by priesthood.

I mean that is both a) homosexual and b) pedophilia.

No matter how horny you get from lack of sex, surely it won't make you both a) and b)?

Safe spaces don't come much safer than the Catholic Church.

You have needless sexual repression, combined with the arrogance from belief that they have divine authority and then they have positions of power over young kids who's parents are taught to/have more love for God and the Church, then their own kids.

It's really no wonder why this happens.
But muh religious freedom.