At Patheos – on the Catholic Channel – there’s a blog called Headlines from the Catholic World. On that blog there’s a post with the teasing title “Catholic Church the only body ‘effectively acting to eradicate pedophilia’.” There really is; I’m not making it up.
A former Vatican spokesman has written, against the backdrop of the house arrest of a former nuncio being investigated for abuse of minors, that the Church is the only international body acting effectively against pedophilia.
In an op-ed published in the Italian daily “La Repubblica” Sept. 25, Joaquin Navarro-Valls commented on the house arrest in Vatican City of Jozef Wesolowski, the former apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic who was laicized earlier this year. He faces criminal charges under Vatican City’s civil laws.
The house arrest of Wesolowski “is a very important penal action,” stressed Navarro-Valls, who was head of the Holy See press office from 1984-2006.
What?
The Vatican (or the church) arrests one guy, and that makes it the only international body acting effectively against pedophilia? Why would that be the case? Other bodies arrest child-rapists. Does the Vatican get lashings of extra credit because it’s arrested so few (like, zero) in the past?
Navarro-Valls emphasized that “the Holy See was legally fit and morally ready” to handle such an “extreme and shameful crime” thanks to a “legal rigor the Church has been maintaining against pedophilia for 20 years, ever since abuses first came to light.”
No. No it hasn’t. It hasn’t been doing that. It’s been protecting the rapists and sending them from parish to parish, instead of doing that.
Anything to feel better, eh?
Is it just me or are comments not allowed on that post?
Oh well. I guess posting “ahahahahahaaHAHAHAHAHAHA….HA! *retch* ” wouldn’t have been that useful anyways.
Patheos – so very close to pathetic….
Remember, the real miracle is that the wafer & wine don’t physically show they’ve changed into human flesh & blood.
Massive credulity – don’t leave, or stay, home without it!
Please tell me that this was an article from The Onion…
No can do.
Pedophelia is a psychological thing. Research shows it is something some people just have. Almost like a sexual orientation. Of courses acting on it is harmful and many pedophiles know this. Arresting a pedophile doesn’t help to eradicate it any more than making homosexuality illegal would eradicate it.
I may just be being pedantic because the headline should read “eradicate child rape” but this does speak to why they have no hope of succeeding when they do not even understand the problem. Or maybe there is just a such thing as sin and bad people have demons. Good luck with that.
@ bigwhale: Which is why I consider the term pedophilia a euphemism.
Number one, the psychological disorder should be called “pedosexuality” rather than
“pedophilia” since it is about sexual attraction rather than love.
Number two, very,very few of the people who sexually abuse children actually have this psychological disorder, most of them are opportunistic abusers: Children are simply easier to manipulate, intimidate and overpower than adults, plus when they try to tell someone about their abuse, people are (even) more likely to disbelieve them than adults.
Yeah, that article only sounds plausible if you ignore the entire US law-enforcement community.