by Frances Ruocco

Created on: April 08, 2010

Abuse in the Catholic Church more than likely shocks, disgusts and upsets every Catholic and non-Catholic as it should.  The same should apply to abuse in any other organization, religion, profession and/or home. 

As someone who is very proud to be Catholic and was very disturbed by the accusations that were made as well as the ones that are constantly being made to date I would like to ask why some people continue to separate abuse performed by Catholics and the rest of the world. 

In New York our representatives were trying to pass a bill that would allow someone who was abused by a Catholic Priest to go back fifty to sixty  years to press charges against Priests and put in claims against the Priests and Church who committed such a crimes. 

We Catholics fought the passing of that bill, not because the abused were allowed to go back fifty to sixty years in time, but because they were only allowed to go back fifty to sixty years in time against Priests and the Catholic Church.  I repeat that it was only allowing them to go back fifty to sixty years in time against Priests and the Catholic Church. 

Why not anyone who has abused a child or woman.  Why not the grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, aunts, politicians, lawyers, doctors and anyone else who committed the same crime as any Priest did.  Why not bring up every case and ask why the CEOs, Presidents, Speaker of the House, and other memebers of any profession who looked the other way to be held responsible?  Why not the FBI when the President of the United States or any other member of the Senate or Congress abuses someone, or the head of a hospital, other religious institution or law firm abuses?

Another issuse is why the media is not specific as to the crimes committed.  Yes, there have been a few who have abused more than one child, again I repeat it should never be that way, but, how many of these cases were when a young priest fell once and had a one time slip with a teenage girl who was almost eighteen and had consentual sex with that priest.  She didn't report it, and he got away with it when he shouldn't have or sent to another parish and never fell again.  How many times did that happen in a public high school when nothing was reported and again the abuser walked away from being caught and punished. 

Again, I am not condoning that behavior in any given situation,

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