Catholic Comic Books Warn Kids of Abuse
December 5th, 2007 . by TexasFredNEW YORK (AP) - The Archdiocese of New York is handing out coloring and comic books that warn children about sex predators, the first such effort by a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.
In the coloring book, a perky guardian angel tells children not to keep secrets from their parents, not to meet anyone from an Internet chat room and to allow only “certain people” like a doctor or parent to see “where your bathing suit would be.”
In a comic book version for children over 10, a teenager turns to St. Michael the Archangel for strength to report that two schoolmates are being sexually abused.
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the have been distributed to about 300 schools and 400 religious education programs to use as a resource. They are also free online.
“It’s to help young people to know situations they should not get into,” he said. “How to be safe - but to try to do it in an age-appropriate and sensitive way.”
Full Story Here:
Catholic Comic Books Warn Kids of Abuse
On general principles I really like this idea, kids need to know about predators, perverts and pedophiles, ignoring them won’t make them go away and parents that won’t talk to their kids about perverts, predators and pedophiles aren’t helping the problem either, so, all in all I think this is a good thing, except for one small detail…
I am probably going to piss off a few Catholics with my commentary but that’s the way life goes…
It’s a damned shame that the Church feels obligated to do this because there are so many perverts, predators and pedophiles in the ministry of the Catholic Church itself, they do need to help in this educational process, but they need to make sure that they’re not a part OF the problem…
I have a very special place in my heart that’s filled with rage and hatred for ANY Priest or Nun, or ANY religious leader that would use their position of trust to lure a child into their perverted sickness, and I am still angry at the Church itself for not doing more to remove these perverts, predators and pedophiles from the ranks of the Church hierarchy as well…
And I am not venting rage in an effort to denigrate anyone that IS Catholic, I was raised in the Church and a few close friends already know this so, here it is for everyone to see, when I was 17 I had a pervert Priest try and make a pass at me, I was shocked, I was angered, I felt totally betrayed, but most of all I was consumed by rage, simply because I knew what he was trying to do was wrong, and I punched him, a roundhouse right that put an immediate end to his desires…
I was threatened with excommunication, I was threatened with arrest for hitting the SOB, I was ostracized by the local Catholic Church and I walked away, all because I was never the kind to slink away and not stand up for myself, so I decided that if the Catholic Church didn’t want me as a member, and if they wouldn’t believe me in my accusation that this Priest was a pervert, well, I didn’t need them either, and remember, this was in 1970 and no one believed that there were Priests that were perverts, except for those of us that had been their victims or attempted victims…
I was one of the lucky ones, it didn’t happen to me until I was old enough and big enough to stop it from happening, but there are many kids out there that aren’t that old or that big to stand up to some pervert and they MUST be educated about the dangers they face from perverts, predators and pedophiles, no matter if it’s the perv in the park or the Priest in the parsonage, a pervert is a pervert and ALL of them are sick and worthless individuals…
Now maybe some will understand why I am a supporter of Sues Warriors For Innocence and why I started Vigilante Justice, both sites are dedicated to finding, exposing, naming and warning responsible and decent people of the dangers these perverts, pedophiles and predators present to America and to our most valuable and precious resource, our children…
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They’re about …what….50….100 and more years late in worrying about kids, aren’t they.
You were old enough to know….I wasn’t, but I was lucky in the fact it didn’t go farther than it did. The emotional scars never go away.
I don’t usually hate a ‘group’….but I make an exception for those who intentionally use their position of authority to hurt kids.
Oh Kate, more like several centuries too late, the Catholic church itself has been one of the most evil institutions to ever exist…
Peace and love and sex perverts and inquisitions and torture…
Reminds me of the ‘other’ religion of peace…
Fred, I’m a Catholic and I agree with you about the abuse. It’s evil and disgusting. I’m sorry for what happened to you. All those who did these things and/or helped to cover them up need to be permanently removed from ministry. Then they should be subjected to whatever criminal penalties fit the circumstances. No excuses, no delays.
I can only speak for my own experience, but in my parish there have been a lot of changes since the scandal became public. Anyone who has any contact with minors or vulnerable adults must have background checks and go to training on how to detect abuse. No adult is ever alone with a child, anywhere, anytime. This makes things a lot more difficult sometimes but I think everyone agrees it has to be this way now.
Number one, you were lucky. Number two, you were sufficiently old to not only defend yourself but understand what was being attempted. So many of my former victims were anywhere near that lucky. Predators pick off the unfortunate very specifically for their inability to fight back and inability to fight off the mindfuck assault that follows, guilt and all. The physical attack is bad enough; the advantage taken and mined by child predators in terms of the mental aspect is in all cases unforgiveable. One strike. Period. You’re out.
BZ
Tried to leave a comment on this earlier and got that error message that you now have fixed. Anyway…
I was saying that the Catholic church has been a santuary for homosexuals probably for over a 1000 years. An all-male priesthood, and homos flock to anything that’s all-male, it’s to be expected that they’d become priests for the easy sex and compatible companionship.
I’m convinced that most homosexuals are molesters of boys, and since the Catholic church is packed with them it’s a good thing that there’s a few decent sorts that want to protect the kids. It’s for damn sure that the cardinals and bishops have been way more concerned about protecting their fellow perverted fag friends than the innocent children they victimize.
If all the queers were kicked out of the Catholic church, I wonder if anyone would be left to run it?
Rastaman
http://www.IslamaNazi.com
Fred, I’m also Catholic. When the scandals hit, I was absolutely furious with the MEN AND WOMEN who had used their positions of trust to abuse children. I detest pedophiles in any form, in any manner, and firmly believe the research stating the recividism rate is right around 99%-they can’t get well. Castration, chemical or actual, won’t work-the urge to commit the crime will still be there. Sex offenses are crimes of power not crimes of sex and so the “usual” rehab just won’t work. Execution or life imprisonment are all that will work on sex offenders.
Yes, you were very, very fortunate in that you recognized what was happening and were capable of defending yourself. That particular priest made a grave error with you. Normally, predators go after the weak. He must have been extremely arrogant to go after someone not weak.
And, yes, the PEOPLE that covered up these crimes are accomplices in every sense of the word and deserve to be punished as well, to the fullest extent possible.
But, here’s where I diverge-I think. I think it’s an excellent idea for the church to take the lead in this issue with these comic books. Since the scandals broke, many parishes, like Patrick’s, have taken extensive measures and gone through massive overhauls to make sure this just doesn’t happen again. In my own diocese, all parish workers, whether or not they work with children, but ALL, are subjected to extensive background checks and psych evals. None are allowed to be alone with children and they actually prefer not just another diocese worker but a parent to be with them when dealing with children.
Yes, the Church has an extensively brutal history and I’m not saying it’s all happy happy, joy joy by any means. Hell no. But I do see an institution seeing where the people within the institution have completely undermined the trust of the people they serve and particularly the youngest of its members. I also see an institution taking the lead in correcting its gross crimes and trying to move forward by taking proper action in excommunication of the proper criminals rather than using their power to intimidate the flock.
I also understand it is not the faith that perpetrated these crimes-it was the people within that faith, using the faith as the shield and I have to understand that difference-much like a police department with dirty cops.
All that being said-what are the public school systems doing to get rid of the pedophiles within their midst? More children are sexually abused yearly-YEARLY-in public schools than in the entire KNOWN sex abuse scandal of the church. That doesn’t get the attention of the masses because people enjoy trashing the church-not saying you’re trashing the church, just what’s going on in the media.
Give the church some credit for trying to take the lead-and you have given them that credit-while trying to continue to weed out the “dirty priests” and bring the church into what it should be. At least they, unlike the schools, are making a sincere effort.
Rastaman, I have wondered for 34 years now, I would never have believed it when I was 17, I was in a state of shock but the Catholic church is OVER RUN with pervs, and it’s not just the Priests either, in my hometown there was, and still is, a Catholic hospital, run by Nuns, and that’s a sex crazed freaky bunch too, I worked at the hospital my Senior year in high school, the Priest I described was the Chaplain at that hospital, and he was a closet queer, but being WHITE and Catholic I spent most of my time being the driver for the Nuns that needed to go someplace, and you would NOT believe the places they went, in civilian clothes and in Habit, but they were a rowdy bunch and I DO know of several that had babies…
They were sent to the Mother House to have the kids and then they went up for adoption, usually some wealthy parishioner…
I haven’t set foot in a Catholic church other than to attend family funerals, I have NO use for their leadership, from Nuns, to Priests all the way to the top, the Church of Rome can kiss my Rebel ass…
Fred, I forgot to say “excommunication and PROSECUTION” of the proper criminals rather than simply excommunication. My bad.
And, I also forgot to tell you it’s a very good, thought provoking article.
Miss Beth, he was convinced that I was a devout Catholic altar boy that would do whatever the Priest TOLD me to do, he was sadly mistaken..
Oh I understand completely! My oldest was molested by her father (won’t go into details, but the DA wouldn’t prosecute because it came out in the divorce and all that crap). Anyway, forever after, with all my children, I’ve been what you would call overly protective, I guess. When my son wanted to be a cub scout-I had to be a leader. I had to be there, period. I wasn’t going to just drop him off and leave.
When he and my daughter became altar servers, you can bet I ran background checks (I’m NCIC certified) beforehand. And even then, again, I felt it necessary to take a leadership role to BE THERE, no matter the occasion-holy hour, practice, Mass, whatever. I HAD TO BE THERE. We were fortunate (?) in our parish had some great priests then, but there were two previous-one had died before the scandals hit and one is fighting.
This was the way I was BEFORE the scandals hit-and I thank God I was so vigilant because what if they hadn’t been good priests? I’d be facing the guilt of trusting someone with my children who hurt my children! And I’d have to bury that feeling around the kids while helping them get the help they needed to deal with that trauma.
This isn’t an issue that’s touched my family intellectually only-and after my oldest (yes, I still beat myself up for working, going to school and trusting my husband, her father, to babysit her because he was out of work), I just wasn’t going to take any more chances with my children. They’re much too precious to me.
Nuns…Sr. Elaine Marie and Sr. Audrey stand out for me-after I kicked Sr. Elaine Marie (I was 6, she’d just insulted me and wouldn’t answer a question-somehow, I connected with her shin through the habit with my saddle shoes), Sr. Audrey took a swing at me. There are VERY FEW nuns I trust. Sr. Elaine Marie also made me go to Mass (1st period every day) after I’d been throwing up since getting to school and punished me when I threw up in Mass.
Well Fred, I can certainly understand your position on this topic.
I also know that some good has came out of the catholic religion, and the pieces of shit that use their position in the church to hurt kids are the lowest form of life on the planet.
I think a comic book of this magnitude is a great idea…
Now if we could make one for Muzzie kids that say: blowing themselves up is not a good idea, we might be able to help them kids too…
Well now Robert, Slow down… it is a ‘good’ Idea…it just turns into a bad one when they blow up some of us as well. By all means…Muzzie coloring books encouraging them to blow eachother up…