Saturday, April 3, 2010
Not Just the Catholic Church ... Mormon Church and Other Religious Institutions Have Also Covered Up For Pedophiles
Five minutes of research shows that the Mormon Church - like the Catholic Church - has covered up for its pedophiles.
For example, the Houston Chronicle wrote in 1999:
In 2001, the lawyer for a victim of sexual abuse stated:The church that is known for placing a spiritual premium on family values is under increasing attack for an alleged failure to protect its children from pedophiles.
Therein lies the irony of a barrage of lawsuits and general complaints alleging that - in an effort to protect its wholesome image - the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church, has failed to root out child molesters in its midst.
The fast-growing institution, with 10 million members worldwide, is not the only church that has been plagued in recent years by embarrassing cases involving sexual abuse of children. But while Mormon officials maintain that they have eliminated most of the problems that may have once existed, lawsuits and criminal charges linking the church to pedophiles have continued to mount.
The Mormon Church covered up its knowledge of a High Priest's sexual molestation of young boys for more than a decade according to a Portland,Oregon lawsuit that the church paid $3,000,000.00 to settle. The charges were brought by one of the priest's victims, Jeremiah Scott. Today, Scott's mother made a statement describing the Mormon Church as a, "sanctuary for pedophiles...And an Associated Press story from Thursday notes that some Mormon church leaders may have covered up pedophile problems involving Boy Scouts leaders. And see this.
The church claimed throughout the litigation that it had a constitutional right to "wipe the slate clean" of any member who had "repented" for his abuse of children and had been forgiven by the church. "It is a policy that puts out the welcome mat for pedophiles like Franklin Curtis," Mrs. Scott commented...
Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minnesota, who is nationally recognized for his work representing victims of abuse by clergy and who joined Scott's legal team this year to prepare for the anticipated trial, described the Mormon Church's conduct as among the worst of any religious organization in the county...
Abuse is common among many other denominations as well. As Associated Baptist Press wrote in 2007:
Inappropriate behavior by clergy cuts across all denominational ties and theological positions, [Christian] ethicist Joe Trull said. But he says a case can be made that “nondenominational churches and Baptist churches who have autonomous church government are more vulnerable and susceptible” to instances of sexual abuse.Abuse is also common in the quasi-independent religious orders.
Note: I strongly believe in freedom of religion. This is in no way meant as an attack on the Mormon faith, only the decision by clergy to cover up for pedophiles.
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I have enjoyed your site for quite some time but was greatly disheartened at your portrayal of an 11-year old news story as presenting some sort of pattern and indictment against the "Mormon clergy to cover up for pedophiles." I sincerely hope this is not a sign of things to come. Thanks, for you usually timely and very insightful and relevant news and commentary.
ReplyDeleteNice timing that the article publication date coincides with
ReplyDeletethe start of the Mormon church's General Conference.
What a coincidence....
Three Million? How much did the attorneys scam?
The bishop of the ward (the geographical area set up to group about 500 members together for administration purposes) stated in a legal deposition that he had no knowledge of the HP Curtis prior molestations.
At the time of his living with the Scott family Curtis had no leadership, supervisory or teaching assignments in the ward.
The bishop did tell Scott's mother that it wasn't a good idea to have an octogenarian move in with their family,
advice that Scott's mother ignored.
Scott's mother is the one who arranged for her 11 year old son to share his bed with the 80 year old Curtis,
which obviously enabled the molestation; why wasn't she prosecuted for child neglect?
Curtis was arrested and convicted of first-degree sex abuse and given probation in 1994. He died in 1995.
The lawsuit against the Mormon church was initiated in 1998.
It became a fishing expedition into the financial dealings of the church and its members.
The church stated that it settled for the 3 Million because it would have cost "significantly more in legal fees and other costs" to continue with the litigation.
Ka-ching. Ka-ching. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$....
How about involvement of Rabbies ? What Talmud sayes about it?
ReplyDeletehttp://ahmedismailibrahim.wordpress.com/2007/05/14/pedophile-rabbis-just-the-tip-of-an-iceberg/
I highly recommend that folks read The Franklin Scandal by Nick Bryant. It's an expose of pedophile/pederast kidnapping, rape and torture of children in a sex ring that included high Republican officials. In fact, the scandal went so high that the FBI covered it up as did other law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteHere are some good links on the Franklin Scandal which is about a pedophile ring that was operating at the elite levels of the Republican party in the 1980's:
ReplyDeletewww.franklinscandal.com Nick Bryant’s Book, Franklin Scandal
Documentary trailer about this 1980’s pedophile ring:
http://www.franklinscandal.com/acarefullycraftedhoax/
Conspiracy of Silence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggxiBWv4xYE
http://www.franklincase.org/franklin-case-timeline This web page is a good summary of the Franklin case.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread485085/pg1 another good summery of Franklin.
Look into the Jehovah's Witnesses too. There is a similar story there for anyone who wants to do the research. Here's a start:
ReplyDeletehttp://silentlambs.org/