SAN MATEO (CA)
The San Mateo Daily Journal
September 12, 2018
By Dorothy Dimitre
“All power is a trust and we are accountable for its exercise.” — Disraeli.
It’s the patriarch thing — still predominant in many institutions of our society. From many families, to the church, to government, men obsessed with authority and power mostly run things, people often revere them, and no matter how corrupt the patriarchs, there are enough people that cling to the father figure tenaciously and further their cause.
In spite of the advances of the women’s movement, in many areas patriarchy has managed to remain alive and kicking — and its destructive ramifications are often evident in the news. This is not only about the priest child-molesters, but the church hierarchy’s cavalier cover-up — patriarchal authoritarian mindset turned catastrophic. Add those who allow them all that power.
Many questions come to mind. Why were so many of the children who were sexually abused by the priests unable to talk about what happened? Why were the few parents who were told about it in such denial that they couldn’t comprehend? What kind of arrogance imbued the hierarchy who went to such great lengths to cover it up? Why was it more important for those in charge to protect the perpetrator than to protect innocent children? Do these priests and the hierarchy feel at all sinful because they betrayed people who trusted them as examples of morality, integrity and compassion? How desperate are they to protect their position of unquestioned authority? A clue: The Dean of the College of Cardinals dismissed the accusations as “petty gossip.”
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