UNITED STATES
Catholic League
Bill Donohue has written an in-depth analysis of sexual abuse at the BBC, and the BBC’s coverage of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. He explains the similarities and dissimilarities, focusing on why the scandals occurred and how the top brass in each institution reacted. He concludes that while the BBC got off easy in a recent report on its problems, its coverage of the Church’s problems was patently unfair. To read his article, click here.
Donohue holds a Ph.D. in sociology from New York University and is the author of several books on civil liberties, social issues, and Catholicism.
Excerpt:
Overview
The Dame Janet Smith Review Report on BBC serial rapist Jimmy Savile has many strengths and weaknesses. Her greatest strength is her ability to understand the sociological underpinnings of Savile’s predatory behavior and the reasons why his conduct was not taken seriously at work. What makes this particularly commendable is that her training is in law, not social science: she is a former judge.
Smith’s greatest weakness is her readiness to exculpate the BBC hierarchy: she wants us to believe that no one in a senior management position ever knew anything about Savile’s sexual offenses. What makes this so remarkable is Savile’s long history of abuse: he worked at the organization for more than 25 years—molesting some of his victims on the premises of the BBC — and he bragged about his exploits in public.
To come to this conclusion, Smith sets the evidentiary bar quite high. A less legalistic examination would not have been so forgiving.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.