sexual abuse
An Oral History of Shame
An Excerpt From Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free
Possible Future Child-Slavery Plans
“… minutes after witnessing the marriage of his 15-year-old daughter in Nevada, the 41-year-old Oler collected a 15-year-old bride of his own and took her home to Bountiful.” (source) Warren Jeffs, under fire for his part in a possible Canadian girl-smuggling operation, may have had other plans as well, as revealed by notes in his…
Cuidado
As Catholic church abuse scandals continue to emerge worldwide, there is a new way that that those in positions of authority, but who are not ordained priests, are taking advantage of their parishioners. Kathryn Joyce has a piece on Religion Dispatches this morning. In 2008, when Katia Birge, a U.S.-born journalist and translator now living in Mexico, was…
Schedule Change
From the Desk of the Principal The Very Special School 11 Leafy Lane East Coast, USA Dear Parents, As you all know, our middle school Divinity Club has worked really hard this year raising money to bring a musical show from Ireland to TVSS for our traditional Second-Semester Convocation. Unfortunately, the much-anticipated “All Priests Show”…
A Hanukkah Miracle
Nes Katan Hayah Po. A small miracle happened here. Here, of all places, on the Metro Transit Authority’s turf. That’s what I thought, at least, when I stepped off the Q train and onto the platform of the 30th Avenue stop. I had to laugh. I should explain why. The ancient history: The Judeans found…
Dispatch from Catholic Camp
I was recently digging in the KtB archives, researching my upcoming coffee-table book of Catholic summer camps, Our Lady of the Woods. I found this oddity—a postcard from a Catholic camp in Portola State Park, California. The postcard appears to have been censored. I chalked it up to camp humor—high-spirited youths who’d seen too many…
Reverend Phelps, Your Cause Is Just!
Occasionally KtB just can’t resist sharing its space with some of the wild letter-writers we hear from on a regular basis. They, after all, are part of the cacophony choir, to the exposition of which the site is so fervently devoted. Take, as a saner preface to this, Josh Garrett-Davis’ recent piece here on Fred…
“Clerical Impropriety” Is So Hot Right Now
Those of you who thought Buddhism was still the proverbial last righteous man in Sodom might be disappointed to read August 20th’s New York Times. In his article “Sex Scandal Has U.S. Buddhists Looking Within,” Mark Oppenheimer likens a recent sex scandal in a New York-based Japanese Buddhist society to the slew of sexual improprieties…
#Pontifigate Fever
Friend-of-KtB Sascha Freudenheim brought this clip to my attention: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c You’re Welcome – Church Scandal Prevention www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party which I, obviously, enjoyed. Then, F.O.KtB Sascha suggested a Twitter campaign to get John Hodgman of the Daily Show…
Who Should Confess, and Who Absolve?
Our own Peter Manseau has a powerful piece in the Washington Post today, which brings his own mother’s experience with sex abuse at the hands of a priest to bear on the crisis today: Before we left the priest’s wake, I knelt beside the casket with my mother. I have no doubt she prayed for…
Secret Vatican Pie Chart Revealed
To: Fr. Cantalassa, Fr. Lombardi, Cardinal Bertone From: “Joe” Subject: Recent Annoyances If the questions persist, stick to the plan. Remember: clockwise around the pie, for our Lord most high. Attero secundum lectio.
