Barely a day goes by without a story of sexual abuse from one religious group or another in all parts of the world.
Seemingly a large number of Catholic and Protestant clergy have been involved in the systematic sexual abuse of children for centuries. It has been going on with the knowledge of the community and it has been hidden up.
What does this tell us? It produces more questions than answers.
Are paedophiles attracted to the clergy? Do they worm their way in to gain access to young children and have power over them?
Why is there a condoning of this activity by the hierarchies of the church?
Why did they all try to cover it up?
Why did they all enable it to continue?
Why did the community and victims not speak out louder?
It seems that every time this wicked abuse came to light the guilty parties who carried out the crimes were merely moved somewhere else where they were free to continue their abuse on a new set of victims.
If these religious people were so convinced in the bible and god; if they believed – they truly believed they would be judged by god and punished for their sins why did they commit such heinous sins?
One must assume that they did not believe the scriptures they were peddling – and neither did the hierarchy who covered it up! They were using their congregations.
It is the same with these supposedly Muslim men who have systematically groomed young vulnerable girls. How religious were they?
Did these abusers really believe in the teachings of the Koran? Did they believe that these vulnerable young girls were asking for what they got? Or does the Koran condone the rape of young girls?
Why did the authorities take so long to act?
Was it fear of being called racist?
Was it an attitude towards these girls from difficult backgrounds that they were making choices and deserved what they got?
As an antitheist, who believes all religion does more harm than good, all of this serves to strengthen my views that many people use religion to gain power and wealth and are total hypocrites.
These abusers – Christian and Muslim – are scum. They need locking up. They speak volumes for the hypocrisy of the religions they supposedly represent.
No wonder the power of the church is declining.