Crimes Among Priests and Clericals Essay Example

The Catholic Church has been rocked with many allegations of sexual abuse and child endangerment for a long time, since the 1950s. Over the recent past, however, since the 2000s, there has been an increase in the number of victims coming forward to report cases of sexual abuse. This can be attributed to the fear that victims had in the past about coming forward and exposing the injustices (Bohm et al., 2014). In the recent past, there has been a great use of social media platforms that have enabled victims to connect with others from across the world in order to share their stories. They know they are not alone, and there are many people and human rights groups that are willing and able to defend them and come to their aid.

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Most of these victims are young boys who have suffered from sexual abuse and child endangerment especially in the hands of Catholic priests. There are many schools and orphanages run by the Catholic Church. Parents and guardians may prefer these faith-based institution based on the kind of upbringing they might offer their children. It is therefore unfortunate that young children undergo abuse in the hands of the very people trusted to make them better people (Frawley-O'Dea & Goldner, 2016).

The most tragic part of the sexual abuse and child endangerment situation is the fact that the perpetrators of these very serious crimes often go scot-free without having to pay for their heinous acts. They are simply transferred to other locations, and this minimization of negative consequences might encourage them to go on with their crimes (Cornish & Clarke, 2003). While the Popes of the Catholic Church have often declared a zero tolerance for child abuse, the Church is yet to take any concrete actions to ensure that this happens. The situation is made more complicated by high-level individuals being accused, who have resigned from their positions at the threat of serious investigations. Investigations have also been marred by many hindrances and interferences, making them inconclusive.

The right thing to do, as with any other person accused of a crime, is to carry out investigations into the matter and those found guilty to be held accountable for their actions. This will deter such acts in the future, as well as protect other potential victims from falling victim to the same offenders. While many reforms have been proposed to address the issue of sexual abuse especially of children by the Catholic Church priests and clericals, the Church itself has come out to disagree with these proposals. This has sparked outrage worldwide as it may be viewed as a sign that the church is not fully committed to ensuring justice for victims and preventing further cases of abuse. Many have complained that the Canonical rules are above the law, which has brought about serious consequences in how offenders are treated. The issue of the confidentiality in confession is another that has led to sharp criticism, with the Catholic Church maintaining that anything said to a priest in confession is sacred and cannot be repeated, even if it involves sexual abuse.

There are several ways in which these acts of sexual violence and child endangerment in the Catholic Church can be greatly reduced or even more desirably completely curbed. Some of these measures include; -Using surveillance, community policing, guardianship, removing excuses and cover-ups, arresting and detaining the abuser, focused deterrence and problem-solving justice. In criminal law, the first step towards analyzing a crime it to find out the motivation for the commission of the crime.

The first of these is permissibility. This is definitely a factor in sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church. These are situations that weaken offender's moral prohibitions to take part in a crime. There are four categories of moral distortion, which are the minimization of accountability, minimization of negative outcomes, minimization of blamelessness of the victim and minimization of the legitimacy of the moral principle. Minimization of negative results here is clearly shown in the fact that very few cases are actually prosecuted; most of them are simply swept under the rug. The second is prompts, which are the situational cues that encourage an individual to perform a crime. An example of a prompt is discriminative stimuli, given by the presence of helpless children that will probably be too scared to report an incident of sexual abuse (Cornish & Clarke, 2003).

Using Surveillance

Surveillance should be applied especially in boarding schools as a measure of prevention of sexual abuse. Examples of surveillance measures include the interaction of young children with priests and clericals in secluded places be banned; adults should interact with children in a situation in which there are other people present. Surveillance cameras can also be placed at strategic positions around school compounds. Local children and social services should also send workers routinely to boarding schools to make sure that the children are safe, and report any signs of abuse to relevant authorities for investigation.

Arresting and Detaining the Abuser

Arresting and detaining abusers in sexual cases would go a long way in making sure that there is justice for victims as well as making sure that future incidences by the same offenders are minimized. This should be done with the principle of 'guilty until proven innocent' in mind, to ensure justice for both parties. If found guilty, offenders should be convicted, and the sentence should be harsh enough to deter others (Durlauf & Nagin, 2011). This also ensures that they are held accountable for their actions. Recidivism, the tendency of a criminal to reoffend, will be reduced.

Removing Excuses and Cover-ups

Excuses and cover-ups are the main characteristics of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. High profile priests and clericals have been involved in cases of sexual abuse, and when investigations are conducted they quickly resign, making this a huge impediment. Priests involved in cases of sexual abuse are often nor prosecuted or investigated, but rather moved into other locations (Frawley-O'Dea & Goldner, 2016). This is an unfortunate situation since this leaves them to abuse other kids in other areas and it may take a while before victims are courageous enough to come forward. This vicious circle is then repeated over and over. Serious action should be taken, such as the arrest of such offenders and putting in place of punitive sentences after thorough and transparent investigations.

Guardianship

The absence of a capable guardian is one of the contributing factors to child abuse. I the case of sexual abuse and child endangerment in boarding schools run by the Catholic Church, the guardianship of the children have been delegated to those who take care of them in the school setting. This includes priests, clericals, and teachers among others. It may, therefore, be difficult to detect cases of child sexual abuse as the children are away from their parents a lot of the time. It is important therefore that parents and guardians make sure that they are a constant presence in their children's lives, and that the children can confide in them. Social services should also make sure that boarding schools adhere to safety standards, and that abused children know that they can reach out for help and not get justice without being victimized.

Problem Solving Justice

Rather than focusing on traditional responses to crime, problem-solving justice focuses instead on identifying the patterns of crime and the conditions that fuel the crime. This strategy has been used in seeking solutions in such areas of crime as drugs and domestic violence. Today there are more than 2500 courts in the United States that not only seek to punish offenders but to solve the underlying or root cause of the problem. These courts are based on different principles, such as rehabilitation and others on punishment and accountability. I would say that both of these principles are applicable to sexual abuse and child endangerment in the Catholic Church. Enhanced information is necessary for a decision to be made on what should happen to the offender and what treatment should be offered to the victims (Wolf, 2007).

Communities play a big role in identifying, prioritizing and solving problems occurring in their localities. There also needs to be collaborative efforts between the many parties involved. In this case that would be the Catholic Church itself, local communities, social workers, parents, and guardians as well as the victims themselves. Justice to victims should be a priority, as should be their dignity and respect, as well as access to services that will help them feel safe and restore a sense of normalcy to their lives. Accountability is another important aspect of problem-solving justice, and perpetrators of sexual abuse should be held accountable for their actions (Wolf, 2007).

Community Policing

Community policing is incorporated into problem-solving justice. It is the responsibility of the local community to be on the look-out for sexual offenders within their locality and inform the relevant authorities. This is especially helpful when the victims themselves are too young or too scared to come forward and report that they are the victims of abuse. Communities are also instrumental in ensuring that victims of sexual abuse are not stigmatized but are rather treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Focused Deterrence

Deterrence is an important part of criminal law. A criminal, being a rational human being, often thinks about the consequences of his or her actions before committing the crime. Harsh sentences and punitive laws are deterrents to crime. However, the certainty of punishment is often a more effective deterrent that the severity of punishment. This is especially true in the cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. If there were certainty of punishment, they would be deterred. Lack of certainty, promoted by extensive cover-ups, is the reason that priests have not been deterred from sexual abuse. Potential offenders, as well as the public, should be made aware of the consequences (Wright, 2010).

References

Bohm, B., Zollner, H., Fegert, J. M., & Liebhardt, H. (2014). Child sexual abuse in the context of the Roman Catholic Church: A review of literature from 1981-2013. Journal of child sexual abuse, 23(6), 635-656. DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2014.929607

Clarke, R. V. (1995). Situational crime prevention. Crime and Justice, 19, 91-150. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=159617

Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (2003). Opportunities, precipitators and criminal decisions: A reply to Wortley's critique of situational crime prevention. Crime Prevention Studies, 16, 41-96. DOI: 10.4236/jbcpr.2013.11003

Durlauf, S. N., & Nagin, D. S. (2011). Imprisonment and crime: Can both be reduced?. Criminology & Public Policy, 10(1), 13-54. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00680.x

Frawley-O'Dea, M. G., & Goldner, V. (Eds.). (2016). Predatory priests, silenced victims: The sexual abuse crisis and the Catholic church. Routledge.

Wolf, R. V. (2007). Principles of problem-solving justice. Center for Court Innovation. Retrieved from http://www. courtinnovation. org/sites/default/files/Principles.

Wright, V. (2010). Deterrence in Criminal Justice. Washington, DC: Sentencing Project.