Please try giving both sides of the story. This type of sensationalism just obscures any intelligent discussion of how and why the abuse cases took place within the Church.

http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/bn080703.htm

Post deleted by Tom Perry

Nobs,

Eddie and I just added a new section on Clergy Abuse in the MS Bookstore. Would you like to have a look and advise us of any books we have missed that would give a greater sense of balance to what we offer there? They should be works directly on the topic of CSA, of course, as opposed to more general works on the positive outreach activity of the Church. Because of the nature of our link to the web they should also be books available on Amazon, but I suppose that won't be a problem.

If you post things here we will pick up on them and get them into the Bookstore as soon as possible.

Much love,
Larry

I don't know how well Panorama is known in the USA, so it's perhaps worth stating that it's one of the BBC's great achievements in television reporting. It's programs are much respected and the standard of investigation and reporting is very high.

I remember seeing this show last year. It does feature interviews with victims, members of the families that have been affected, perpetrator priests and former church officials whose job it was to work on "damage control", but I did not feel that the show sensationalized the issues. Certainly it was not unintelligent.

There are of course two sides to every story. As I recall Panorama gave the Catholic Church ample opportunity to respond but it chose not to do so. So yes, that side remains untold and this is unfortunate, if not the fault of Panorama.

Much love,
Larry

I'll watch the program, but to be honest I don't really want to get into this debate. I'd much rather focus my energy on helping the Church heal, and I'll leave issues of canonical law to the professors and lawyers.

Larry, I'm not aware of any books on the Church's position regarding the abuse cases. Their position has been to be very quiet about the whole thing.

However, it might be worthwhile to have some books about the healing ministries of the Church, such as Mother Theresa's campaigns for the well-being of children in India. I'll ask my priest if he knows of anything.

Tom,

Thanks for the reference. We'll make sure that gets into the Bookstore.

Any other contributions are most welcome from anyone who knows of something we don't have. Just look for it in the Bookstore and let us know if we have missed it.

Much love,
Larry

Nobs,

We want to keep the Bookstore focused on CSA issues, but if you know of anything on the CSA/clergy debate from a viewpoint that you would find more reasonable, do let me know and it will be in the Bookstore in a day at most. It would surprise me if with all the discussion and controversy there proves to be nothing available in defense of the Church, if not produced by the Church itself. But okay, it's not a subject on which I have read a lot of the relevant literature.

Much love,
Larry

Larry,

Anything that I have been able to find in support of the Church has been based on some pretty ugly agendas. I think it is far too soon for anyone to write in support of the Church.

Nobby, Panorama may be respected but they tend to err on the side of sensationlizm and are not totally unbiased.
I dont necessarily believe stories that are concocted to cause
hysteria to those who view it,

ste

BTW, this week I read of a Bishop holed up in his Cathedral in Italy because he believes in incest and pedophilia.
The vigilantes are after him!

Ste,

I generally discount anything that I see on television. Like you said, the truth often takes a back seat to ratings.

I'll check the panorama story though.

Okay, fair enough. But if you do hear of anything that guys here should know about please do let me know.

Post deleted by Tom Perry

Tom,

Since the bulk of that thread was written there has of course been the ground-breaking admission by the church in the USA (Los Angeles) that abuse occurred and that compensation would be paid.

But of course it isn't just the Catholic Church. I was raised a Presbyterian and was abused by a Scout leader who helped out with the troop sponsored by our church. When I wrote to the local church last year to urge vigilance, do you think I got a reply? Nope. I heard from sources back home that the church session circled the wagons and prepared for a lawsuit, which was never my intention and would never have succeeded in any case, since the statute of limitations had long since expired and the perp himself has been dead for more than a decade.

Much love,
Larry

Post deleted by Tom Perry

Not precisely relevant I suppose - I was wryly amused to read a letter in the Irish Times last year by a bunch of Dublin priests basically saying that priests have rights too! I.e. they were complaining that their bishop (archbishop?) was pursuing too stongly the possibility of there being child-abusing priests in their midst. Not before time, say I. Anyone who denies the culpability of churches, notably but not exclusively the Catholic, in the (quite recent) past has their head in the sand. Yes of course churches have done a lot of good too, but .... e.g. Roadrunner (among others)has done a lot of good on this forum, but that wouldn't prevent me from thinking him a scumbag if I discovered that he secretly went out at night to beat up old ladies and steal their handbags.