The shocking story of William Vahey
In our fixation with paedophile priests, we tend to forget that the priesthood itself is not a factor – that men with this kind of inclination tend to deliberately seek professions which allow them plenty of access to boys (and more unusually, girls). For those who were Catholic and of a certain generation, entering the priesthood was the most obvious choice not only because it allowed access to boys through schools and similar, but also because it allowed such men to hide from their own sexuality in a denial, while still deploying it.
The shocking story of William Vahey, carried in The Independent (London) yesterday illustrates the point that you really don’t have to be a priest.
The interesting thing is that he was jailed for child sex offences as far back as 1969, when he would have been only around 19 or 20, yet he went on to have a 40-year teaching career around the world, not only in low-scrutiny locations but also most recently in London.
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/american-teacher-drugged-and-preyed-on-up-to-90-young-teenage-boys-around-the-world-9284178.html
This “news” that is not news at all to those who are genuinely concerned about the abuse of children by anybody – not exclusively by Catholic priests – will not attract comments by those who are only inveterate Church-bashers pretending to be interested in moral behaviour.
The Catholic Church’s child-abuse problem is not really that individual priests abuse children placed in their trust. That’s missing the point.
The real issue is that the actual Church itself has repeatedly and ongoingly covered up the child abuse and moved abusive priests around parishes and countries, leaving them free and in ideal circumstances to continue with their destructive behaviour.
This “news” – that is not news at all to those who are genuinely concerned about the abuse of children by any adult – will not attract the usual flood of comments from those inveterate Church denigrators who raise an outcry only in the much less frequent cases of abuse by priests and demanding that unrelated Catholics fork out huge compensations.
Please see my previous comment. The Church is responsible for the abuse it facilitates.
Evil-doers are all around us.
Be vigilant, and teach children to be aware and report.