Religion and Sex Abuse

There’s something truly rotten about virtually all large, moralistic religious organizations where sex is concerned! A ‘tip of the vast iceberg’ of revelations in religious institutions is referenced below (see links).
Last year, a report commissioned by the (US Catholic) Church said more than 4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years in cases involving more than 10,000 children, mostly boys. In the last year at least 300 American priests have been removed amid allegations of child sex abuse.

It always takes decades for victims to summon the strength and means to confront their abusers. Throughout Europe and North America, these abuses are becoming widely know about and the victims receive sympathy and are slowly gaining ground through legal actions. Meanwhile, though India has been shown to be a country where 53% of its children allege sexual abuse (in a major and representative official study, virtually nothing has been done so far. Considering the known parlous state of the police, law and politics in India – especially when one considers how long it has taken to raise cases on any scale in Europe and the USA and with still far too meagre results – it will take more time to root out the deceit and sexual criminals in India to any adequate extent.  Not surprising that Sathya Sai Baba – with the patronage he enjoys, has not been brought to book for the over 30 public allegations against him – not yet. But the modernisation of India is progressing rapidly and global values and laws are developing fast which gives hope that the young professional and entrepreneurial classes in India will eventually be able manage the responsibilities of cleaning out their figurative and literal Augean stables where 40% of the truly poor still have to live out their lives. Fortunately, too, a fair number of swamis (who preached celibacy!) have been jailed in the past decade or so for sexual abuses (sometimes combined with murders).

Prime Ministers and Presidents etc. who have publicly worshipped Sai Baba and turn a blind eye and protected him from all allegations (think of the disgrace for them if he were brought before a court!). So far the authorities of the Supreme Court have managed to throw out a petition against Sai Baba. That there will be a reckoning and that the facts will eventually force themselves on these misguided prestige-minded politicians is most likely, however long it takes. This self-proclaimed God Incarnate will not be allowed to get away with his lies by those still young persons who report having suffered by his hands.

Video report on the Californian sex abuse settlement
US Church sex scandal timeline
Extent of sex abuses in US Catholic Church
US Catholic Church pays out ca. $50 mill. in Washington
Anglican Church of Canada pay out for sexual abuses
Kentucky, USA $120 mill. settlement on child abuse
ISKCON Hare Krishna movement bankrupted in US by sex abuse compensation
Hundreds of sex abuse claims against Pakistani madrassas 
Ireland – NSPCC head in church abuse role
Attempts to ban BBC child abuse investigation TV report
Cover-up of child sex abuse in UK Church
More UK Church sex abuse cover-ups
Australian church sex abuse compensations
UK Catholics – many accusations, no prosecutions
140 men sue Irish Catholic Church
US Archbishop faces fresh abuse claims

‘Spiritual’ Sex Abuse

Sexual abuse has for ages been a feature of churchmen where the doctrine is sexually repressive. However, the huge extent to which this has been taking place in so many churches and sects is only now becoming properly known. After many years of struggle to be believed and to summon the money and expertise to take the guilty Catholic churches in the USA to court, results have begun to be seen. A record compensation of over $600 million in California has just been awarded. But – and this is a very large BUT – not one of the guilty has been brought to book by due legal process… so far. The same applies to sexual abuses as most credibly reported about Sathya Sai Baba, his Organisation having cleverly avoided legal accountability in the US, where he himself cannot be sued.

The protection given by religionists – including many bishops and heads of church communities – to both hetero- and homo-sexual abusers in the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, The ISKCON (Hare Krishna) organization and in many other sects or ‘spiritual communities’ has been wall-to-wall. This utterly despicable behaviour has often been compounded by making the victims of sexual abuses suffer further personal abuse simply for alleging what was done to them. One US lady who has been raped by a priest broke down in tears on worldwide TV News (22/7/2007) while telling how she was not believed by her very own church community, which ostracised her. This ‘turning a blind eye’ has been very common, also in the Sathya Sai Organization. The hurt is as great as the original sin and the crime is with the scandal-mongers who attack alleging victims of sex abuse, who are either ignorant and opinionated or bitter-hearted individuals.

Some supporters of Sathya Sai Baba post continual vicious attacks against the many who have spoken out about being sexually abused by Sai Baba – and done so against great odds, with the politically powerful Sathya Sai mini-imperium and its bottomless coffers where murders have also occurred in Sai Baba’s own bedroom, quite possibly sex-related. That was never cleared up when the CBI investigation of it was totally quashed by Sai Baba supporters in the Indian Government.

Considering the huge scale of sexual abuse in India – as reported by the Indian Government approved UNICEF and Save the Children research project, the fact that very little progress has been made as regards bringing sexual abusers to book in India is a scandal too.  (See here)