SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Friday 2 August 2013
Sarah Nelson
As allegations mount this week about sexual and physical abuse by monks at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands, it must appear there are endlessly-unfolding paedophile scandals in the Catholic Church.
This will not just distress Scotland’s many Catholics themselves: it can encourage a sectarian prejudice which in parts of Scotland unfortunately remains tenacious.
Is there something about the Catholic Church which has encouraged this abuse, or is the answer much more complex? And can something positive come from all these revelations of cruelty and distress?
Here are some questions which people like myself, who have worked with sexual abuse for many years, might help to answer.
Is it Catholic doctrine – i.e. do particular religious beliefs cause sexual abuse?
Usually not: victims we have met come from many different religions, denominations and sects. Rather, aspects of values and structures often found in religious bodies have made it easier for a minority to abuse for years without being exposed or stopped.
These include special authority (“a holy man wouldn’t do that”); special status (“this would so damage our reputation, we must protect it”); trust and deference by the faithful, which allow ready access to children; authoritarianism or hierarchy; and the value of obedience.
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