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The next abuse crisis

By Michael Cook - posted Monday, 29 March 2010


Or the news from New York that the International Planned Parenthood Federation recently gave girl scouts a glossy pamphlet encouraging them to have “lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex”.

If a priest had suggested these ideas, they would have been called grooming. And in fact, they are grooming - for a lifetime of what Phillip Adams calls corporate paedophilia. What kind of society are we creating if we actively encourage children to treat sex as entertainment and encourage men to remain in a constant state of arousal? Sex is not a toy. Without clear moral standards, it is a natural passion which easily becomes an unnatural addiction. Does anyone seriously believe that in 30 years’ time there will be less sex abuse after giving children classroom lessons in how to masturbate?

Of all our social institutions, it seems that only the Church is taking seriously the fact that a crisis is brewing for which we are going to pay dearly. As Benedict told American bishops recently: “What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?”

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Contrary to the impression conveyed in the media, the Catholic Church has been incredibly successful in teaching its priests how to control and channel their sexuality. There are 400,000 celibate priests in the world. The number accused of sexual misconduct is a minuscule fraction, even though a single failure is too many. True, bishops and priests should rend their garments in shame for the bestial crimes of their associates. But that must not keep them from warning the world about the next abuse crisis.

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This is an edited version of an article first published at MercatorNet.com on March 18, 2010.



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About the Author

Michael Cook edits the Internet magazine MercatorNet and the bioethics newsletter BioEdge.

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