From Linda:

  I work on the civil suits on behalf of the people abused by churches. 
There is a huge difference in the Catholic response to this problem and 
the Mormon one. The Catholic people have a way to influence their 
leaders. It is not an authoritarian church. Catholics have been very 
clear that they want something done to stop the abuse of children. The 
Catholic leaders in historic settlements with victims have publicly 
apologized for the pain and trauma they have caused. They have 
instituted programs to stop the abuse. In my opinion the Catholic 
response has been a Christian one and they have stepped up to the plate 
to solve this problem. I only wish the news media would start 
contrasting their loving and responsible response towards victims with 
the one the Mormons have given. 

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It sounds like you have done a tremendous amount of work to help 
polygamy victims in very difficult situations.  That's great.  However, 
I respectfully disagree with you about the Catholic Church.  It is 
*definitely* an authoritarian church; there is a hierarchy of priests, 
bishops, Cardinals, and the Pope.

What got the church to do something was widespread lay outrage and the 
$$ they had to pay because it was amply documented that 
bishops/Cardinals chose to move known pedophiles from parish to parish 
without telling anyone.  They paid a fortune in insurance costs.  Most 
of the hierarchy wanted it to go away.  Bernard Cardinal Law, as he is 
referred to, was the target of widespread outrage when he fought 
bitterly doing anything.  He called down the wrath of God on the Boston 
Globe, who broke the priest abuse scandal.

there is a saying among Catholics that the lay people are supposed to 
"pay, pray, and obey."  too many people were too angry this time for 
this to succeed, but the real problem was the Church paying out so much 
from lawsuits.

I grew up in a very devout Catholic home and I was abused over a period 
of years by a very devout Catholic and I can tell you that dissent and 
even independent thinking were absolutely not allowed.  The same was 
true in the Catholic grade school where I went for 8 years.  There was 
only one time I can remember, I was a sophomore in Catholic high 
school, that a teacher actually required us to express independent 
thoughts.  Still, deviations from the theology they taught us were not 
allowed.

There is a reason that there are so many bitter ex-Catholics out there. 
  I try not to be bitter, but any equanimity I have is because I left 
the church over 15 years ago.  I will not set foot in a Catholic church 
other than for family events (weddings, baptisms, and funerals) and I 
will not take communion.

The Catholic hierarchy refuses to yield on such things as women 
priests, artificial birth control, married priests, etc.  There is now 
a severe shortage of priests due to this inflexibility, and the average 
age of a priest is about 60.  the sexual abuse scandals make it even 
less likely that a young man will express a vocation.  Part of the 
church's response to sexual abuse is to ban homosexuals from the 
seminary !!! as if being gay makes someone an abuser.

Last year, it made national news at Christmastime when a priest left 
his parish to celebrate the Mass in an area where there had been no 
priests in a while.  He was excommunicated and the hierarchy proclaimed 
that anyone who attended the Mass was in a state of mortal sin.  This 
was because he disobeyed orders and left his parish after being refused 
permission to do so.

I understand that what you are dealing with is horrendous, and I would 
say you've got a much harder job ahead of you than the Catholic 
situation - that's because there is not the large enough population of 
people who've become outraged about polygamy abuse.  But I would not 
say that the Catholic church is not authoritarian, nor would I say that 
their response to the scandals has been impressive.  I have read 
guilt-inducing letters from priests online who state that if lay 
Catholics let the sexual abuse interfere with our faith, then we are 
going to Hell.

I have very bitter memories of being abused for years in an extremely 
religious Catholic household.  This is the same church that preaches 
the sainthood of Maria Goretti, who died to preserve her virginity 
(circa 1905 Italy),  She was attacked by a neighbor, she fought back, 
he stabbed her multiple times, and she died.  Non-Catholics I have 
spoken with often do not understand the insult to child rape victims of 
her sainthood, but Catholics "get it" immediately.  She was not made a 
saint because she died tragically.  She was made a saint because she 
died to preserve her chastity.  I think she was 12 or 13.

the only time most Catholics will speak of rape is to state that 
victims should not get an abortion if they become pregnant.

I know there are great priests and probably some good programs out 
there, but it is nowhere near a real response and repentance, in my 
opinion.  any change comes down to the $$ they've lost from lawsuits, 
and the corresponding loss in giving from parishioners who don't like 
to see their money going toward paying off the Church's mistakes in how 
they treated known pedophiles.

btw - I read that a very small % of priests abused, perhaps 2% - the 
problem is, they tended to abuse many children/young teens.  and in 
many other countries, the issue of priest abuse has yet to be tackled.

Mary Katherine
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