Catholic Abuse

9 Pages 2312 Words

e off his knee, I ran to tell my friends
and we had a good laugh, our fellowship enhanced by the shared experience
of the same sad pedophile. I do not believe that I, or they, suffered
lasting or even temporary damage from this disagreeable physical abuse of
power. Given the Latin master's eventual suicide, maybe the damage was all
on his side.
Of course I accept that his misdemeanors, although by today's standards
enough to earn imprisonment followed by a life sentence of persecution by
vigilantes, were mild compared to those committed by some priests now in
the news. I am in no position to make light of the horrific experiences of
their altar-boy victims. But reports of child abuse cover a multitude of
sins, from mild fondling to violent buggery, and I am sure many of those
cases now embarrassing the church fall at the mild end of the spectrum.
(2) Doubtless, too, some fall at the violent end, which is terrible; but I
wo...