David ☧

All sexual abuse of children is wrong. Of the reported cases of sexual abuse in the U.S.: 1) 85% occur in the home, 2) 14% occur in schools, 3) 1% occur in religious institutions. Of the 1%, the Catholic Church is in the bottom half. Wherever sexual abuse is found the perpetrators need to be punished including those that cover it up. The victims of these crimes need to be compensated and given the help they need in recovery. But make no mistake about it, The Catholic Church was singled out in media propaganda and a smear campaign as being the worst offender. The data does not support this claim in any way, quite the opposite. "Most sexual abuse of children occurs in a residence, typically that of the victim or perpetrator. 84% of sexual victimization of children under age 12 occurs in a residence. Even older children are most likely to be assaulted in a residence. 71% of sexual assaults on children age 12-17 occur in a residence (Snyder, 2000). -The Children's Assessment Center "Family structure is the most important risk factor in child sexual abuse. Children who live with two married biological parents are at low risk for abuse. The risk increases when children live with step-parents or a single parent. Children living without either parent (foster children) are 10 times more likely to be sexually abused than children that live with both biological parents. Children who live with a single parent that has a live-in partner are at the highest risk: they are 20 times more likely to be victims of child sexual abuse than children living with both biological parents (Sedlack, et. al., 2010). -The Children's Assessment Center. "Children who do not live with both parents as well as children living in homes marked by parental discord, divorce, or domestic violence, have a higher risk of being sexually abused." -National Center for Victims of Crime "The Boy Scouts of America are now facing 100,000 claims of sexual abuse. The number of claims of the total payouts to settle these case for the Boy Scouts will easily eclipse those of the sexual abuse scandal of the U.S. Catholic Church." LA Times November 2020 "But of 100,000 priests active in the U.S. in this half-century, a cadre of just 149 individuals—one priest out of every 750—accounted for over a quarter of all the allegations of clergy abuse. These 149 super-predators also explain the surprisingly large number of very young victims that the study reported. So if Catholic priests are no worse than other professions in this regard—and maybe a lot better—why do we hear so much about them being abusers? Several reasons explain this focus, none of which necessarily reflect any anti-Catholic bias in courts or media." -Myth of a Catholic Crisis - Philip Jenkins PHD "No formal comparative study has ever broken down child sexual abuse by denomination and only the Catholic Church has released data of its own. But based on the surveys and studies conducted by different denominations over the past 30 years experts who study child abuse say that they see little reason to conclude that sexual abuse is mostly a Catholic issue." Pat Wingert - Newsweek (2010) "We don't see the Catholic Church as a hotbed of this or a place that has a bigger problem than anyone else. I can tell you without hesitation we have seen cases in many religious settings from traveling evangelists to mainstream ministers to rabbis and others not just Catholic Priests." Ernie Alan - President of National Center of Missing and Exploited Children "We don't see vast differences in the incidents of one denomination over another. It is pretty even across the denominations. It's been that way for decades." Sarah Buckley Asst VP for Corporate Communications. The Guide One Center for Risk Management (Insurance company for churches). "One out of ten public school students experience unwanted sexual advance from an educator. More than 4.5 million are subject to sexual misconduct by an employee or teacher of the school sometime between kindergarten and the 12th grade." Report from the US Dept of Education (2004) "The Catholic Church may be the safest place for children. Whatever its past record, The Catholic Church in the U.S. has made unparalleled strides in educating their flock about child sexual abuse and ensuring that children are safe in Catholic environments." Religion Reported David Gibson

Bishop bans prayer to St. Michael at the end of Mass. States returning the liturgy to "noble simplicity." Unbelievable. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

The Holy Ghost does not choose the Pope nor does Holy Mother Church teach that.

Bernadette and the Lady of Lourdes. In theaters April 27.

Noahide laws. @douglas_haugen will have fun with this one.

It's going to come to this, isn't it?

It's all so ridiculous.

No surprise here.

Michaelmas Ember Days start tomorrow. Wed 09/23 Fri 09/25 Sat 09/26