BY SHAY CULLEN
HUNDREDS of thousands of priests and clerics over the years have given their lives in sacrifice for their people, hundreds are true martyrs. Thousands more have left home and family to serve as missionaries in foreign lands, including the Philippines, to join Christians in solidarity in bringing truth, enlightenment and social justice to many communities.
They have built schools, churches, hospitals and managed projects that help the poor. They brought the love of God and social justice into the hearts of communities and the lives of people who have been abandoned and exploited by corrupt corporations and government officials. These priests are working for social justice. They all will say they detest child sexual abuse by anybody above all by priests.
So, why then has the reputation of the hundreds of thousands of good bishops, priests, clerics and Catholic faithful being sullied and smeared by the devious, despicable and hideous crimes of just a few of their deviant clergy when being challenged by outraged laypeople in the worldwide media?
The answer is because they were allowed to! The cover up, callous indifference and inaction, fear, and shame to expose a priest by bishops, priests, clergy and the lay Catholics who could not, would not and cannot accept or believe that their exalted priestly idol could have committed such a heinous crime of child sexual abuse.
The abused children who by extraordinary bravery and courage dared to risk everything in their young fragile lives to whisper or tell the shocking truth to an adult of being sexually abused by a priest are generally not believed. That is another deep wound. They are rejected, scolded, said to be lying and told to shut up and never speak of it again. That is why there are few, if any, court cases against Filipino clerics.
The child victims usually have no protector, their parents are against them especially if their abuser is a priest. Brave are the parents that would challenge the mighty institutional church. The victims have no supporter and some government social workers fail them, too. Church and government have failed to provide safe and secure therapeutic centers operated by professional therapists and councilors with experienced paralegal for child victims of sexual abuse. It is only a few non-government organizations who dare to rescue, protect, heal and demand justice through the courts against the child rapists.
Throughout the Philippines, one in every three girls is a victim of sexual abuse by relatives, neighborhood pedophiles and clergy. Few are reported. The children bury the pain and suffer in silence. Everyone has to stand and fight this terrible crime in society and the Church in particular.
Every Christian believing in the words of Jesus of Nazareth that children are the most important in the kingdom of God must act on the truth and protect child victims by speaking out and get the suspects to a fair civil trial. In the Philippines, how many child-abusing clerics have been held to account in the courts? Very few or none at all.
We have to be defenders of abused children, protectors of the victims and champions of what is just and right for children. To remain silent, inactive and indifferent is silence of consent. Any information of child abuse can be reported in confidence to predainfo@gmail.com or to this writer. (preda.org)/PN
