oh-myyy-ribbon
Comic Sands © 2019
News

1,700 Catholic Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse Are Living Under The Radar In The U.S., Investigation Finds

Amelia Mavis Christnot
Oct. 05, 2019
Image Source/Getty Images

The problem of child sexual abuse in organizations that give open access to children like the Boy Scouts, Little League and churches is a major concern for parents.

And while most of the other organizations lack the resources to cover up the crimes, the international nature and power of the Catholic Church has allowed abuse and abusers to be hidden for many years.

A recent investigation by the Associated Press (AP) reported:

"nearly 1,700 priests and other clergy members that the Roman Catholic Church considers credibly accused of child sexual abuse are living under the radar with little to no oversight from religious authorities or law enforcement."

AP said the group of "priests, deacons, monks and lay people" now:

  • teach middle-school math
  • counsel survivors of sexual assault
  • work as nurses
  • volunteer at nonprofits aimed at helping at-risk kids
  • live next to playgrounds and day care centers
  • foster and care for children
And while some have not been found violating laws, dozens have "committed crimes including sexual assault and possessing child pornography."
The report comes in the wake of some United States Catholic dioceses calling for the publication of the names of clergy with a "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. But many of those clergy members left the church to become lay people and most were never charged with a crime.
In contrast to the dioceses calling for enhanced accountability, both the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church have lobbied against changes to statutes that would give victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to accuse their abuser and seek justice. Many cases never go to criminal court due to relatively short statutes of limitation for sexual crimes and the abused are also blocked from suing their abusers and the organizations that hid their crimes.
AP's report was based on the names released by those dioceses. Over 5,100 clergy members' names were released. Nearly 2,000 remain alive.
Of those alive, AP found nearly 1,700 had little or no restrictions or oversight. 76 of the of the almost 2,000 could not be located by the AP. The balance of the 2,000 were found to be living under some form of supervision.
AP's analysis found that more than 310 of the 2,000 were charged with crimes when they were priests.

65 were with various crimes committed after leaving the church and most were convicted. 46 of the 65 were charged and convicted of crimes of a sexual nature.

While the vast majority of U.S. dioceses released their records, the over 5,100 names released do not include the records of 20 dioceses that say they plan to release the names from their diocese nor 10 dioceses that have made no announcements yet. Two dioceses released partial information.

The credible accusations reported include inappropriate comments and unsolicited hugging up to and including sexual contact and assault. Because of the broad scope of the accusations, encompassing non-criminal acts as well as criminal acts, tracking which individuals are a clear and present danger becomes muddied.

But after centuries of abuses within the Catholic Church, seeing them take some accountability is a first step in the right direction. But first steps become meaningless when additional steps don't follow.

*****

Listen to the first season of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!' where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

Weird News

Guy Films Himself Attempting 'Fire Extinguisher Challenge' And Immediately Regrets It

PresidentFartFeather/Reddit

Anything dangerous or any foolish act you can think of has already been done by someone out there on the internet.

And I mean ANYTHING.

Keep reading... Show less
News

Texas Woman Dubbed 'Swing Set Susan' Pretends To Be A Cop While Harassing Hispanic Teens Playing At Public Park

@arlenedegaf/Twitter

A White civilian faked being a police officer in order to berate a group of Hispanic teenagers enjoying a swing set in a public, all-ages park, in Fort Worth, Texas.

One of the teens recorded the confrontation on a smartphone and posted the footage online.

Keep reading... Show less
popular

Waiters Explain Why They Have Rejected A Tip From A Customer

live.staticflickr.com

Being in the service industry is an incredibly difficult career. It is not for the lazy or faint of heart. In fact it has been scientifically proven that it takes an emotional toll on the soul, the body and most especially the mind. So what could possibly make a server reject the coin they are working for?

Keep reading... Show less
popular

Teachers Share The Funniest Thing They've Ever Heard A Student Say

live.staticflickr.com

If you've ever worked with kids you know that their honesty and lack of filter can sometimes make them cringeworthy - and pretty hilarious.

If you haven't (or you don't have a thick skin) then you might not be able to appreciate just how funny kids can actually be. For those who can, this article should be a blast.

Reddit user moosepajamas asked:

Teachers of Reddit, what is the funniest thing you've ever heard a student say?

The answers could sometimes be insulting, sometimes silly, and sometimes downright baffling - just like kids themselves!


September 31

Giphy

One time I was asking students their birthdays. One boy told me that his birthday was September 31st. I tried to explain that this was not possible, but he insisted. Later, I looked it up. I then informed him that his birthday was November 17th.

He looked at me kind of confused and said "ohhhh." Then his face brightened and he said, "Well, last year I KNOW it was September 31st!"

- RedditStateOfMind

Jesus

I teach elementary band. One time we were preparing for a challenging playing test and a student said: "Man, I need to practice."

Without missing a beat the kid next to him says "My mom says I need Jesus."

- moosepajamas

Shown Up By A 5th Grader

Giphy

Was tutoring after-school a couple years ago. A kid asked "What time is it?"

I joked "Time for you to get a watch."

He responded "Time for you to get a new joke" without a moment's hesitation.

I had to laugh at getting shown up by a 5th grader. Two reading levels behind but witty as hell.

- Garlic_And_Sapphires

Jogathon

I had a student who was a newcomer (just moved to the US, almost no English) from Latvia. This kid is very bright and was one of my favorite 6th graders ever. We were having our annual jogathon, which is linguistically and culturally not translatable from Latvian.

Student: "So I pay you and you make me run?"

Me: "Yeah, that's actually how it goes."

Student: "This is simple. I don't pay you, you don't make me run."

Me: "uhhhh...."

- estrogyn

Rosa

Middle school field trip to a different state. One of the chaperones (a large black woman) wanted to get in a little nap in the back seat of the bus, so she made one of the students move to a seat in the front that was far from his friends. He got in the seat and started sulking. He was normally a pretty lively kid, so I leaned forward and asked what happened.

To which he replied: "I think I just got reverse Rosa Parks-ed!"

- almost_queen

The Moon

Giphy

I teach sophomores. One day, this girl was sitting at her desk, looking very concerned, and obviously wanted to ask me something. Finally, she blurted out, "Did anybody else see the moon in the sky during lunch? It's supposed to be out at night, something is wrong!"

- cubfanbybirth

Physically

Teacher to student: "Were you in class yesterday?"

Student, sounding more lost than anything and probably answering too honestly: "Physically... ?"

It wasn't so much an attempt at humor as just the summation of how we all felt in that class, one of those "it's funny because it's too true" things... we all were showing up, we were all sitting in the class physically... but being there? That was another question...

- Allisade

The Ladies

First grade. 6 yr. old lil dude about 3 ft. tall and 80 lbs. walks in late from recess.

Me - "Why are you late?"

Kid - grabs his hunk of belly with both hands like a ball of cream cheese and says "The ladies love this!"

Sits down like nothing happen with no smile.

- BoBoShaws

Synchronized

Giphy

He asked me "If a synchronized swimmer starts drowning, do they all start drowning?"

I lost it in class.

- bunsenbernerr

It's A Miracle

I teach high school, and one of my sophomores referred to merry-go-rounds as "miracle rounds". He legit thought that's what they were called 😂😂 I corrected him and he refused to believe me lol.

- royalredhead

The Pizza Guy

I was sharing information about math in art to my students (they're about 13 years old) and mentioned Leonardo da Vinci. A student said: "The pizza guy?"

I was confused, but later she said, "See! The pizza party!"

We were looking at The Last Supper.

- catpflug

Astronomy

Giphy

"I thought Astronomy would be easy because I know all about it but he hasn't even brought up horoscopes yet and we're 6 weeks in."

- chrisrayn

Budget Cuts

I teach band. One day I'm working with the high school jazz band and we're going to start mapping out some basic compositions. I pass out blank sheet music for them to use, which is simply blank 5-line staves with no notes, no symbols, etc.

One kid gets his sheet music expecting it to be a new song we're going to work on, sees that it's blank, looks up and says "Wow, budget cuts must've hit us hard, huh?"

- SquirrelSanctuary

Life Choices

Math prof. I finished a proof and to check understanding, I asked "does everyone understand my choices?" One of my favorite students ever piped up and said "Are we talking about your proof or how you've chosen to live your life?"

- coldstainlessnail

Before

Giphy

Wore a Captain America shirt to school since the student council had a super hero day. A student said I looked like Captain America - before the super soldier injections.

- numero1uno

popular

Teachers Share The Worst Cases Of 'My Child Can Do No Wrong' They've Ever Seen

cdn.pixabay.com

Parenting isn't always easy, but most parents recognize that their kids are going to mess up and need to be taught how to behave. Some, however, have deluded themselves into thinking that their little angel couldn't possibly misbehave or do anything wrong.

Keep reading... Show less
News

Nurse's Twin Sister Pays Powerful Tribute To Nurses Everywhere With Emotional Facebook Post

Laura McIntyre / Facebook

Nurses are often one of the most undervalued professionals we have. Doctors tend to get the spotlight when it comes to healing.

But in the past week, many are placing nurses and all they do in the limelight–all thanks to Laura McIntyre celebrating her twin sister Caty's dedication.

Keep reading... Show less