Pedophilia and sexual abuse are not Catholic or Orthodox, but a universal evil
GLOBAL JUSTICE PROJECT
PROJECT COORDINATOR
ALLIANCE OF CHRISTIANS OF CROATIA
Pažljivo pročitajte ovaj tekst. Pedofilija i seksualno zlostavljanje nisu ni katoličko ni pravoslavno, nego univerzalno zlo. Možemo li okrenuti glave?
tajnik udruge Bojan Jovanović
Please read this text carefully. Pedophilia and sexual abuse are not Catholic or Orthodox, but a universal evil. Can we turn our heads away?
Secretary of the Association, Bojan Jovanović
Pedophilia and Abuse of Vulnerable Adults; How the Slaughter of the Innocents Is Perpetrated by Silence in The Church, and Lack of
Justice for The Victims by Lack of Accountability for Predators
Abuse of children and vulnerable adults is a global humanitarian crisis. Pedophilia
understandably is the most grievous crime. There is no question as to their vulnerability. There
appears to be debate as to what constitutes adult vulnerability.
In both the medical and counseling professions all ages are viewed as vulnerable under care.
Safeguards are in force to ensure safety of patients to avoid causing harm to those seeking
care. In comparison, the Catholic Church refers to the church as “a field hospital for those
seeking spiritual nurturance and healing. The church is viewed as a hospital, a sanctuary, a
pasture in which to seek solace and spiritual care from a world and its problems riddled with
the impact of evil and sin. The clergy are Christ’s representatives serving as shepherds meant to
keep the flock safe. He can be compared to the role of the therapist or physician. The shepherd
does not consume the flock. That is the role of a predator. Yet, when the wolf is dressed as a
shepherd in the sanctity of our churches he is at a marked advantage over the innocents in his
care. Perhaps the blood red color on the stained-glass windows that adorn our churches
detailing the life of Christ in pictures reveal a hidden message of the blood its other innocent
victims who experienced sexual abuse shrouded for far too long in the dark veil of secrecy and
coverups. Christ was murdered for speaking truth to power.
This “slaughter of the innocents” ordered by Herod is an analogy for murder of one’s soul which
is at the center of what makes us human. The ramifications for children sexually abused by
clergy is detrimental to emotional development due to the impact of the trauma of the
developing brain. It imposes has a lasting adverse sentence on their concept of God as they
believe God, Jesus, abused them through the cleric. We are all God’s children regardless of age.
Adults can be rendered vulnerable for various reasons such as experiencing sexual and
emotional abuse and neglect as children or at any time during life rendered vulnerable by crises
such as loss of health, death of loved ones, loss of income seriously impacting the quality of life
as well as being vulnerable by blind trust in the religious institution and clergy. True consent
must be between equal power and expressed not through submission which is a survival tactic.
It is well documented that many nuns in the Catholic Church were used as “sex slaves ” and
silenced through fear tactics and intimidation. They fear losing their orders. In our male
dominated religious institutions women are viewed as subservient. The effect of living with
abuse in secrecy takes an enormous toll of all aspects of the person’s life and health. It is known
that predators who prey on adults can also turn their gaze on younger targets and vice versa
who are far less likely to speak up. A predator preys like a serial killer kills regardless of age of
the victim chosen. Fear of serious repercussions for reporting and the trauma that ensues for
those who are able to report it compound the impact.
It is urgent that justice is sought by identifying and holding predators accountable removing
them from ministry and access to potential victims. Transparency is needed and not silence and
cover-ups. The devil is everywhere even in our churches. The devil doesn’t win because he is
stronger. He wins when we are unaware of his schemes. The devil’s greatest strategy is
deception and darkness. It allows him to gain and maintain control. The enemy’s power pales in
the power of God which is the greatest power in and truth and transparency. Righteousness,
truth, the light of exposure, and justice are the weapons to fight the spiritual deceiver seeking
to destroy humans whom God lovingly created in His own image and the church which
represents His care and love for us helping us reach heaven instead of dragging us to hell and
damnation through pedophilia and abuse of all God’s children including adults. Vulnerability
knows no age limit. We must not remain silent which is to be complicit with evil. Each voice is a
light bringing illumination into the dark abyss of sexual and spiritual abuse in the most sacred of
places. For each of His children who suffer sexual abuse it is perpetrated onto Christ Himself.
We must speak for Him as well.
Dorothy Small
Activist of SNAPNETWORK, USA
December 2, 2024
Pedofilija i zlostavljanje ranjivih odraslih osoba; Kako se klanje nevinih počinje šutnjom u Crkvi, i nedostatak pravde za žrtve zbog nedostatka odgovornosti za predatore
Zlostavljanje djece i ranjivih odraslih osoba globalna je humanitarna kriza. Pedofilija je razumljivo najteži zločin. Nema sumnje u njihovu ranjivost. Čini se da postoji debata o tome što čini ranjivost odraslih osoba.
U medicinskoj i savjetodavnoj profesiji sve dobne skupine smatraju se ranjivima pod skrbi. Postoje zaštitne mjere kako bi se osigurala sigurnost pacijenata i izbjegla šteta onima koji traže pomoć. U usporedbi, Katolička crkva sebe naziva „bolnicom na terenu“ za one koji traže duhovno hranjenje i iscjeljenje. Crkva se vidi kao bolnica, svetište, pašnjak u kojem se traži utjeha i duhovna skrb od svijeta i njegovih problema, prožetih utjecajem zla i grijeha. Kler su Kristovi predstavnici koji služe kao pastiri, čiji je zadatak čuvati stado. On se može usporediti s ulogom terapeuta ili liječnika. Pastir ne konzumira stado. To je uloga predatora. Ipak, kada je vuk odjeven kao pastir u svetosti naših crkava, on je u velikoj prednosti u odnosu na nevine kojima je na skrbi. Možda crvena boja na vitražima koji ukrašavaju naše crkve, a koji prikazuju Kristov život, otkriva skrivenu poruku o krvi drugih nevinih žrtava koje su pretrpjele seksualno zlostavljanje, zaklonjene predugo u tamnom velu tajni i prikrivanja. Krist je ubijen jer je govorio istinu moći.
„Klanje nevinih“
Ovo „klanje nevinih“, koje je naredio Herod, analogija je za ubojstvo duše, što je u središtu onoga što nas čini ljudskima. Posljedice seksualnog zlostavljanja djece od strane klera štetne su za emocionalni razvoj zbog utjecaja traume na razvojni mozak. Imponira trajnu negativnu kaznu na njihov pojam Boga jer vjeruju da ih je Bog, Isus, zlostavljao kroz svećenika. Svi smo Božja djeca, bez obzira na dob. Odrasli mogu postati ranjivi iz različitih razloga, poput doživljenog seksualnog i emocionalnog zlostavljanja i zanemarivanja kao djece ili bilo kada tijekom života, postajući ranjivi zbog kriznih situacija kao što su gubitak zdravlja, smrt voljenih osoba, gubitak prihoda koji ozbiljno utječe na kvalitetu života, kao i ranjivost zbog slijepog povjerenja u vjersku instituciju i kler. Pravi pristanak mora biti između jednakih snaga i izražen, a ne kroz podnošenje, koje je taktika preživljavanja. Dobro je dokumentirano da su mnoge redovnice u Katoličkoj crkvi bile korištene kao „seksualne robinje“ i šutjele kroz taktike straha i zastrašivanja. Boje se gubitka svojih redova. U našim vjerskim institucijama koje dominiraju muškarci, žene se vide kao podređene. Učinak života sa zlostavljanjem u tajnosti ima ogromne posljedice na sve aspekte života i zdravlja osobe. Poznato je da predatori koji zlostavljaju odrasle osobe također mogu okrenuti svoj pogled prema mlađim žrtvama i obrnuto, koji su daleko manje skloni govoriti. Predator se ponaša poput serijskog ubojice, ubija neovisno o dobi žrtve koju odabere. Strah od ozbiljnih posljedica za prijavljivanje i trauma koja nastaje za one koji uspiju prijaviti zlostavljanje, dodatno komplicira učinke.
Predatori
Hitno je potrebno tražiti pravdu identificiranjem i držanjem predatora odgovornima, uklanjanjem iz službe i oduzimanjem pristupa potencijalnim žrtvama. Potrebna je transparentnost, a ne šutnja i prikrivanja. Đavao je svuda, čak i u našim crkvama. Đavao ne pobjeđuje zato što je jači. On pobjeđuje kada nismo svjesni njegovih planova. Najveća strategija đavla je obmana i tamina. To mu omogućuje da stekne i zadrži kontrolu. Moć neprijatelja blijedi pred moći Boga, koja je najveća moć, u istini i transparentnosti. Pravednost, istina, svjetlost otkrivanja i pravda su oružja u borbi protiv duhovnog obmanjivača koji želi uništiti ljude koje je Bog ljubazno stvorio na svoju sliku, kao i crkvu koja predstavlja Njegovu brigu i ljubav prema nama, pomažući nam da dosegnemo nebo, umjesto da nas vuče u pakao i prokletstvo kroz pedofiliju i zlostavljanje sve Božje djece, uključujući odrasle. Ranjivost ne poznaje dobnu granicu. Ne smijemo šutjeti, što znači biti suučesnici u zlu. Svaki glas je svjetlo koje donosi prosvjetljenje u mračnu provaliju seksualnog i duhovnog zlostavljanja u najuzvišenijim mjestima. Za svako Njegovo dijete koje pati od seksualnog zlostavljanja, to je kao da je počinjeno na samom Kristu. Moramo govoriti i u Njegovo ime.
Dorothy Small
aktivistica SNAPNETWORK, USA
Dana 2. prosinca 2024.
