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Unfortunately child abuse was rife in many areas of Britain for many years. It was focussed anywhere where adults could gain access to young people. This included Scouts, Boys Brigades, various churches, the BBC, sports organisations, local authorities, charities, schools, orphanages and popular music stars and their entourages. Those in authority tended to turn a blind eye to what was going on. The Catholic Church was infected no more and no less than any other. I have been impressed however by the steps taken to highlight and prevent further abuses in the church. But for some reason the media and governments have focussed heavily on the Catholic church's involvement above all others. This has caused damage to the church - particularly in Ireland and Australia. Just imagine what would have happened if the Pope had worked as closely to an abuser as the Archbishop of Canterbury! You all know the answer to that one.
The Church is vulnerable because a concentration of wealth. The name of the game is not just to prosecute the perpetrator, but to try to put the bishop and therefore the diocese in a position of liability. Then complainants can get very large payouts. However secular society is beginning to wise up to the precedent this has set, with the BBC and schools and local authorities potentially on the line. Unlike the Church, which will survive as an organisation even if wiped out financially, these other institutions can't sustain this.
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Unfortunately child abuse was rife in many areas of Britain for many years. It was focussed anywhere where adults could gain access to young people. This included Scouts, Boys Brigades, various churches, the BBC, sports organisations, local authorities, charities, schools, orphanages and popular music stars and their entourages. Those in authority tended to turn a blind eye to what was going on. The Catholic Church was infected no more and no less than any other. I have been impressed however by the steps taken to highlight and prevent further abuses in the church. But for some reason the media and governments have focussed heavily on the Catholic church's involvement above all others. This has caused damage to the church - particularly in Ireland and Australia. Just imagine what would have happened if the Pope had worked as closely to an abuser as the Archbishop of Canterbury! You all know the answer to that one.
The Church is vulnerable because a concentration of wealth. The name of the game is not just to prosecute the perpetrator, but to try to put the bishop and therefore the diocese in a position of liability. Then complainants can get very large payouts. However secular society is beginning to wise up to the precedent this has set, with the BBC and schools and local authorities potentially on the line. Unlike the Church, which will survive as an organisation even if wiped out financially, these other institutions can't sustain this.
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