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New Aus.Anglican rule:Clergy not to be left alone with children.

post #1 of 12
6/18/09 at 2:40am
Thread Starter 
This is pretty unprecedented and shocking...

Don't leave clergy alone with children: report

Quote:
THE Anglican Church in Australia is set to overhaul its rules for how clergy and church workers interact with adolescents after an independent report revealed the extent of sexual abuse within the church.

The report, released yesterday, showed the church averaged nearly a complaint a month between 1990 and 2008, that boys between 10 and 15 were most at risk, and that most victims took more than two decades to complain.

In a study the researchers believe is the second of its type worldwide, University of Sydney professors Patrick Parkinson and Kim Oates examined every completed report of child sexual abuse — 191 by 135 abusers.

They recommended clergy and youth workers should never be alone with adolescents where abuse could occur, such as a home, church or car.

They recommended a triple check on people who work with adolescents (a criminal check, referees and the church's own national register), that people other than the minister must be responsible for enforcing the code of conduct in a parish, and that the church should review its protocols and training.

They also suggested there were enough similarities for the Anglican and Catholic churches to consider working together on child-protection strategies.
So now clergy will need more checks to even be around kids in the first place than school teachers, child care workers, scout masters or any other profession and it will be recommended they shouldn't be left alone with them regardless.

Even I'm stunned by this.
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post #2 of 12
6/18/09 at 11:04am
Can you really blame the Aussie clergymen? How the hell are you supposed to honor your vows while Rachel Ward is blossoming into womanhood right before your very eyes? Something's gotta give.
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post #3 of 12
6/18/09 at 11:07am
Why did they do that? How are the priests supposed to fuck them with people watching? They're not animals, you know.
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post #4 of 12
6/18/09 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelios View Post
Why did they do that? How are the priests supposed to fuck them with people watching? They're not animals, you know.
Actually that´s rather progressive. So the kids can experience gay parenthood from early on. Dutroux approves of this message.
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post #5 of 12
6/18/09 at 2:10pm
Or they could, y'know, not join the church.
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post #6 of 12
6/18/09 at 5:51pm
I'm not sure what exactly the beginning of the end was for organized religion, but this is somewhere around the middle of the end.
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post #7 of 12
6/18/09 at 9:48pm
Nah, it's gonna keep going and going and going.
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post #8 of 12
6/19/09 at 7:22pm
Pretty much in any field that works with kids you're not supposed to be alone with them if only to protect yourself. When I was volunteering at a women and kids shelter the first thing they told me was to always have a second adult around.
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post #9 of 12
6/19/09 at 10:37pm
Yeah I used to work in a day care center (no, really) a few years ago and you were not allowed to be left alone in the company of a solitary child without a second adult in attendance, and a thorough police check was obviously required.
We all know that Clergyman tend to get a bit rapey when there are young boys handy, but this isn't really that monumental a deal, ultimately.
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post #10 of 12
6/21/09 at 1:34pm
The US Army has had a similar policy about drill sergeants in the basic training camps being alone with new junior enlisted trainees, ever since the sexual harassment scandals on the mid 90's. It wasn't the end of the armed forces.
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post #11 of 12
7/7/09 at 3:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rain Dog View Post

So now clergy will need more checks to even be around kids in the first place than school teachers, child care workers, scout masters or any other profession and it will be recommended they shouldn't be left alone with them regardless.

Even I'm stunned by this.
Why are you stunned? For whatever reason, the clergy seem to have an incident rate that is completely out of proportion to their size. Are authorities supposed to simply ignore all the evidence? Frankly, I'm stunned that entire nations haven't shut down religiously affiliated schools, various churches, etc., due to the high rate of abuse claims. Hell, pitchforks and torches might have been warranted.

Also, suggesting that clergyman should have standards similar to school teachers, child care workers, scout masters, or other professions who work with children represents a logical fallacy: perhaps those professions need stricter standards, too.
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post #12 of 12
7/7/09 at 4:22pm
It's the rotten ten thousand that ruin it for the six.
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