Christian Molestation Case (Making a Point)
Tuesday July 17, 2007
That's a headline you're very unlikely to see, despite the fact that there are dozens of cases a year where trusted religious leaders (of many faiths) abuse the trust of their charges. Yet somehow, the press never seems to connect the abuse with the religion- even in those cases where religion plays a key role- unless that religion is a minority faith. That's happened a couple of times this year,* and the latest is generating the usual ridiculous headlines- "Wiccan religion molestation case"- as if there is such a thing. The article linked above drops a couple of throwaway lines, including a brief quote that molestation is "not typical" in Wicca, immediately followed by an implication that it just might be, if not typical, than less-than-uncommon:
"What separates this religion from most others is that most followers have very liberal beliefs towards sexual experimentation."
*including this case, where a family concerned by their son's interest in Wicca sent him to a priest, who is now on trial for molesting the teen.
Comments
You nailed it well. If there were such thing as a Wiccan Bible and it contained passages condoning child molestation, rape, racism, sexism, genocide, it would be all over the mainstream media.
Good grief. The family wanted to act like it never happened. It was their son and their parrish and they went on to church as if their son didn’t matter. Horrible. I feel sorry for the son that he was so horribly disrespected. When are people going to be able to think for themselves? And who is the judge of what spirituality a person follows? Our parents, our elders, our priests? NO–OURSELVES. Goddess forgive these parents. They delivered their son into the hands of this hypocritical, sinner.
And another thing…reading about that case against the pagans luring a “child” of 15 into having sex. Who the hell decided that a 15 year old is too young to decide to have sex? I did it back in the 1960’s. It was nobody’s business but my own. The only molestation was in my parents traumatizing me into thinking sex was BAD. They took me to “counseling” not with a psychologist or a clergyperson, but to a lawyer who yelled at me for 45 minutes. F’ them all. I wish I could have married the boy (he was 19) when I was in love with him at 15. We could have been happy if society hadn’t decided that it was illegal to fall in love and make love. This society is bizarre.
Ummm… I am not quite sure what you are trying to say…sexual abuse happens in all religions. The ones that seem to get the most reporting are those that happen in supposedly “christian” religions. It seems to me that sex abuse in other faiths is sadly under-reported! I have rarely ever even heard of abuse from other faiths…does that mean it is not happening? NO. It seems to be that it is ok to persecute christians left right and center but rarely does anyone dare expose others for fear of being tagged a hate monger or some other horrible title. What happened to that boy was horrible and the abuser is a very sick person….frankly though i think religion should be left out of it, an abuser is an abuser period. And they should be held accountable. It is not religion or the lack there-of that makes them that way. It is their own sick minds. I wish people would stop using these instances to slander whole faiths and keep people divided because of it.
Christianity includes a belief in the goodness of sexual integrity and chaste conduct, and repentance for those who have been immoral to date. The Wiccan quote suggests that Wiccans do not have such a concept. It seems more likely to me that a Wiccan would molest a child than say a Catholic priest due to this difference in beliefs. To say that molesters come in all religions seems sort of bland. Some religions must provide better spiritual ammunition than others to fight against that type of evil in oneself. I would kinda doubt that Wicca is such a religion; it is more a sort of rather silly antiChristianity from what I have heard.