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[Art Deco]

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*Religion’s self-importance damaging *[image: Default Thumbnail]

April 30, 2012 by Cole
Peterson<http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/author/cole-peterson/>


*Catholic church reveals belief that tradition trumps even children’s
well-being*

There are few sins in this world that earn instant condemnation with no
moral debate required and no attempts to twist the law accepted. Even
murder, the ending of the one and only life each person gets, is often a
malleable concept. Pedophilia, on the other hand, is not. It is a wretched
crime, one which even hardened criminals — whose moral convictions are
seriously in doubt — look down upon as abhorrent.

One would imagine, then, that any attempt to end the practice and bring the
perpetrators to justice would  be met with a great deal of praise and
support. At the very least, no one would stand in opposition to reasonable
legislation designed to help root out these criminals, legislation such as
that proposed by Ireland’s Justice Minister Alan Shatter, for example. He
is planning to introduce legislation that would put people in jail for 10
years if they withheld information that would help prosecute a child abuser.

That’s a relatively small step in ending child abuse, but it could help
make life more difficult for pedophiles. There is a rather strong voice of
dissent over the proposed law, though, and it comes from, of all places,
the Catholic Church.

In response to Shatter, the Catholic League tweeted, “The war on
Catholicism is cresting,” citing that the law would make it criminal for
priests to not report instances of sex abuse revealed in confession.
Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Raymond Field said, “The seal of the
confessional is inviolable as far as I am concerned, and that’s the end of
the matter.” For those keeping score at home, that’s small children
violable, ancient, superstitious traditions inviolable.

Obviously since this is taking place in Ireland, it has little bearing on
those of us living in the U.S., but I have little doubt that the same
objections would be raised here with much said about freedom of religion.
One need only look at the recent debates on birth control to see that in
the minds of many, freedom of religion translates into a free pass to screw
over anyone who doesn’t believe exactly like they do.

What these incidents highlight is the sense of self-importance that many
mainstream religions seem to possess. Their traditions and holy teachings
are so important that even the welfare of children comes in at a firm
second place.

One can, of course, make the point that, if priests were required by law to
bring information on pedophiles to the cops, no such people would confess
it to them. That’s true, but it’s certainly not an undesired result. Those
who go to confession must, in some way, feel guilt over what they have
done. By denying them access to an authority that would clear away that
guilt while allowing them to remain free to repeat their crime, more may be
forced to turn to less forgiving individuals who will ensure that what is
needed is done.

I’m all for religious freedom. I don’t think anyone should be told what to
believe or denied the ability to believe what they want. There must be
limits, though. Any act that would perpetuate or allow harm to another
human being simply should not be protected. By allowing priests to withhold
this sort of information, governments are not keeping religions safe from
discrimination, they’re only providing safe havens for those who deserve a
cell.

It only takes one pedophile repeating his crime after confessing to make it
clear why these sorts of religious traditions don’t deserve protection.
Such individuals could be stopped if priests would pick up a phone and call
the cops. But they won’t. In their minds, they’ve done their duty if they
absolve the offender and encourage him to turn himself in. They’ve lived up
to their vows, their God is satisfied and they can sleep with a clean
conscious.

And the children who fall victim to these repeat offenders? Well, maybe God
just doesn’t like them enough.


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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