ThePoliticalCat: Religion: Just One More

for the "Religion: It Makes You Insane" files.

What is it with pedophilia running rampant among religious leaders? Admittedly, to date, the Roman Catholic church has led the pack in scandals, but let's not forget the Children of God scandals, the ABC story on pedophilia in Protestant churches, the huge amounts the Mormons have paid to victims of sexual abuse in their communities (and the strange version of polygamy that causes them to keep marrying younger, never older, women). In fact any time one person has such an inequitable relationship with another person, as a spiritual leader and a member of their flock, one can safely predict some level of abuse, whether the forced drinking of poisoned KoolAid or the signing over of worldly possessions or the seduction and abuse of the young.

Today it's the Jesuits' turn - which makes us a little sad, for the Jesuits have long had a reputation as fearless thinkers. To compromise one's reputation for the sad little pleasure of a forced sexual liaison seems foolish. But we do what we do and we pay what we must.

Raw Story reports that the Jesuits are implicated in sexual abuse of Native American youth and are paying a settlement to the victims who filed the suit. How cruel to victimize such helpless individuals - children of a conquered people.

But that's how it is. Pedophiles rarely attack the children of the rich and powerful. It's the easy victim they're looking for, the helpless child, the orphan, the abandoned, the runaway, the emotionally and mentally troubled. Sick.

From the article:

The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuit Order of priests, will pay $4.8 million in cash to the abuse victims and raise another $200,000 for the homeless in the area, the Jesuits and lawyers for the accusers said.

The most foul and insidious thing about child sexual abuse is that the effects last for generations. The betrayal by a trusted authority figure causes a deep hurt in the victim that often leads to alcoholism, drug abuse, promiscuity, a negative self-image, failure to trust and form meaningful relationships in later life, difficulties with the law ... and no abuser stops at one child.

Very often, victims of child abuse themselves turn into abusers, spreading the hurt.