Murder and Sexual Abuse

Ken Hills
July 24, 2012

http://kenhills.blogspot.com/2012/07/in-response-to-priest-dumping-case.html

In response to “priest dumping” case troubling, July 23 editorial When Karla Homolka made a deal with the Crown Attorney, in which she agreed to testify against Paul Bernardo, she literally got away with murder. It was after this agreement, termed the deal with the devil, that the incriminating videos, which clearly showed her involvement in her sister's death, were found in the ceiling structure of that house of horrors. Now we learn that the defense attorney for Rev. Jose Silva, and the Hamilton-based Crown attorney's office, struck yet another clandestine deal that allows Silva to return to his native Brazil where he is now in therapy, his status as a Catholic priest on hold. When I once asked a criminal lawyer, a member of our family, how he could in conscience defend someone whom he knew was guilty, his answer was clear. His job, he told me, was to offer the best defense possible within the law. And if he was successful in having his obviously guilty client walk free, then it was up to legislators to change the law. It's impossible to compare the significance of a murder trial with that of a sexual abuse victim. But consider this. I was told by a Crown attorney that, for every victim of child abuse reported, there are ten others that have gone unreported. These are my questions. How many victims did Silva abuse? Although these victims may still have a life, it has been changed unalterably. In most cases, the victims will never realize their full potential in life and the effects of their abuse will affect generations to follow. I say this because their pattern of behaviour has been changed and the way that they treat others will not be as it was naturally intended. Some of these victims will become abusers while others will most definitely treat people differently. Further, a number of those abused will take their own lives or turn to drugs in an effort to cope with this indescribable violation. Just ask the 10,000 members of the survivors' network for those abused by priests, the acronym being SNAP, a group based in Chicago whose members are worldwide. Look them up on the internet if you want to read stories of living hell. I am a member of that organization. Now a few questions need to be asked regarding the Silva arrangement. The Mercury editorial of July 23 states that he was "in the Hamilton diocese on something of a loan from a diocese in his country." Does this sound familiar? How often have we heard about wayward priests who have been moved from one diocese to another, not just in our own country but worldwide? Sweep it under the table. Hide it and it no longer exists. When I was deeply entangled in my own sexual abuse story, I was also told by a Catholic Bishop that sexual abuse could never happen again in the church, after people of my generation pass on, because there are different protocols in place now. Really? Another question is how is the Crown attorney able to make questionable deals with defense attorneys? Hasn't this happened too often? Isn't it time for legislators to step in and prevent such arrangements? What protection or compensation or rehabilitation is now given to the 18 year old musician, the victim in the Silva case? What about the others who have most assuredly been abused by this same man, both here and in his native Brazil? The governments of every country have a moral obligation to protect victims of abuse. From what I have seen and experienced thus far, this has not been the case. The public has a duty here also to take a stand, speak out against these heinous crimes and protect our children at all costs.