Catholic priests, who are supposed to represent faith and morality, have sexually abused minors: this fact – incidentally disclosed by the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland itself – has shocked many “Swiss Review” readers. Read some of their responses below.
I suspect and hope that the Swiss Catholic Church has dismissed all the priests who sexually abused children and reported them to the authorities and that they are now in prison like any other criminal deserves. If this is not the case, the Swiss government should act.
Two points stand out to me. First, there is the source of this information. I am even more shocked to learn that these findings came from combing through the archives. That means people knew what was happening and saw fit to document it without sounding the alarm. That makes it three times as bad. The second point is about how human instinct is always the same. Whether within or outside the church, whatever the religion, it isn’t that different to animal instinct.
I am particularly unimpressed by the light tone of the editorial on this subject. I can say from personal experience, even though I have not suffered abuse myself, that suggestive behaviour by a priest harms religious feeling. Granted, abuse exists in all religious communities. I think perversion and instinctual aberrations can never be eliminated. However, child abuse is a much bigger issue outside the church. In my view, the modern absence of religion in the lives of many people is not so much due to the abuse as to the growth over the years of “superficial” lifestyles. People are more interested in consumption, material thoughts, excessive individualism and the fun culture. It’s too easy to just take it out on the church. But that also hurts those people who are sincere about living a moral life and, for example, following the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount in their everyday lives.
Religion is not a path to God; faith and love are. Losing one’s faith over a human’s bid for power over another is the true crime here.
I am pleased that finally everyone is reacting to an event that we’ve suppressed for so long. I am a Catholic and have always had a good experience with the church. Now I see that I was just lucky.
Of course, child abuse by members of the clergy in Switzerland is unacceptable, and not only in Switzerland. At the same time, let’s not forget that the Catholic Church has done a lot of good for the community and for the culture of the country.
The Catholic Church has turned away from Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. It is riddled with false doctrines. Tradition is placed above everything else. Unfortunately, it is not the only church to have abandoned the gospel, the good news.
Some representatives of the Church scorn the good word that Jesus Christ imparted and taught us. They behave like the Pharisees during the lifetime of Jesus. Throughout the history of Christianity, people from the church have tarnished the image of our Christian religion in the pursuit of their personal interests, whether material, fleeting or carnal.
In the Netherlands, the issue of sexual misconduct by Catholic priests and chaplains has been out in the open for a long time. This is the first time I have read that Switzerland had covered up the issue until now and that the clergy had been sexually abusing children for years. I’m glad it’s finally come to light!
For as long as celibacy remains mandatory, the situation will not improve. And even if the celibacy requirement is lifted, it still won’t change things…
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Comments
Comments :
The proportion of Catholic priests who have committed such atrocities is extremely small, much less that the proportion of abuse seen in the rest of society. Of course it must be condemned. But the solutions proposed at the end of the article are nothing short of bizarre.
If the majority of victims were minors and male, then how can it be concluded that the Church must abandon "rigid and homophobic sexual morality." Did not the abusers themselves abandon the Church's perennial teachings on sexual morality? The abuse is from a Church culture too lax, not too rigid about sexual morality. Had the perpetrators of abuse followed the teachings of their own Catholic faith, then none of the these crimes against innocence would have happened in the first place! And to say that the Catholic Church has an "ambivalent stance regarding homosexuality" is a falsehood that can easily be dispelled by reading the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, not to mention the Bible itself with its clear, unambiguous condemnation of such activities.
To avoid abuse - and all forms of immorality into which the world is increasingly mired in - we must adhere to the Catholic faith, not reinvent the gospel and make the faith some sort of a secular democracy where morals are shaped by mere public opinion.
Congratulations for an excellent magazine which always brings joy and happiness when received. However the story about the sex abuse by the Catholic Church Clergy in Switzerland making cover story is shocking. Being a practicing catholic I am fully aware of this shameful behavior. However I question why you chose it as cover story.
Looking forward to the next issue.