Up to the Pope Stop the Pandemic of Pedophilia, Debra Haffner, The Huffington Post, March 29, 2010

Up to the Pope: Stop the Pandemic of Pedophilia

By Debra Haffner
The Huffington Post
March 29, 2010

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-debra-haffner/up-to-the-pope-stop-the-p_b_517523.html

Documents released reveal former priest Father Ernesto Garcia Rubio had a troubled past including allegations of sexual misconduct.

The latest revelations about sexual abuse against children by Roman Catholic priests are nothing short of revolting. The story of Father Lawrence Murphy, who abused more than 200 deaf boys in Milwaukee over decades, despite the boys' speaking out and calling for help, should outrage us all. The new revelations from Germany and other European countries add to the understanding that the prevalence of pedophile priests are, in the words of my colleague, Dan Maguire, "a global Catholic Church pandemic."

"It went up to the Pope," a formerly Roman Catholic friend said to me yesterday, with tears in her eyes. "How is it possible that people knew and didn't stop it?" Unfortunately, the answer is that the Catholic hierarchy did know, and chose to transfer the priests rather than address the crimes they were committing against children.

Yes, crimes. In the secular world, the offending priests and their superiors would be held criminally accountable for their behavior. It is not enough for the Pope to apologize, as he did to victims last week. It is unconscionable when Catholic apologists try to explain away the church's inaction as a relic of another time, when people didn't talk as much about sexual abuse. We are talking now - and learning, to our dismay, how widespread sexual abuse in faith communities really is.

A national research study from Baylor University last year revealed that three percent of adult women, across a range of Christian and Jewish traditions, were involved in instances of clergy sexual misconduct. Most of this occurs between adults; sexual abuse of children and youth by Roman Catholic clergy is of a different magnitude altogether. Still, we must not deceive ourselves that other houses of worship are safe havens from abuse and harassment - or that clergy are prepared to address sexuality issues in a healthy and responsible way. Indeed, many religious leaders are complicit in the silence that has shrouded sexuality concerns in congregations for decades.

Last month, the Religious Institute published a report - Sexuality and Religion 2020: Goals for the Next Decade - that envisions a future when all faith communities will be "sexually healthy, just and prophetic." In practical terms, this would require:

The Pope now has an urgent responsibility -- and an extraordinary opportunity. He must not only move beyond apologies to action, but could also use his influence to urge all religious institutions to address sexuality in healthier, more open and responsible ways.

Pope Benedict, the world is watching and waiting.