Canada Needs an Adult!

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11843792

Seems a bishop in the Orthodox church has been charged with molesting kids. Given how this sort of scandal has hurt the Catholic Church in recent years do you think the Orthodox church will react in a more open fashion or could we be looking at the tip of the iceberg in a similar but whole new scandal?

Comments

[ironhawke.livejournal.com]

This is going to end up being yet another stick in the eye of the Vatican. It'll follow the course of the rest of the world, and we'll have yet ANOTHER example of the Catholic Church's hypocrisy.

If there is anything in this world that has convinced me that absolute power corrupts absolutely, it's the Roman Catholic Church.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

What part of this being the *Orthodox* Church was not clear to you?

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

The part where Westerners generally don't even take note of the fact of the Orthodox church's existence. It's all about Protestantism and Catholicism baby. Orthodox? What's that? Like some kind of Super Catholic? I don't know about them. I hate Papists, but the Orthodox? Well I've never really thought about it before.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

He's Russian Orthodox too. In our high school religion class, we had an entire semester of study on the "Oriental Churches" and other rites within the Roman Catholic Church. Pretty fascinating stuff.

[ironhawke.livejournal.com]

As noted below, I didn't read for context. Given that I don't know much about Orthodox vs RCC I couldn't say much. The cynical part of me thinks that this likely is just the beginning of something much larger, but I'd like to hope for the better half of humanity. On the other side, if such a high ranking official is being charged....I wouldn't be surprised to find that there were other abuses.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Dude, Orthodox =/= Vatican.

[ironhawke.livejournal.com]

My bad, I didn't read for context. I had my Amero-Centric tinted glasses on.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Orthodox = Constantinople.

Catholics = Rome

Anglicans = Canterbury.

[il-mio-gufo.livejournal.com]

A+ lemme see, seminary school? or, u just aced all your history classes? ;) u don't have to answer btw i'm jk

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

Unless they spend several decades moving the bishop around, hiding his activities while possessing full knowledge of them, and systemically failing to address the broader problem, then no, this will be nothing like the Catholic church scandal.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Problem with this is that the largest Protestant denomination in the USA recognizes sexual abuse is a problem in its leadership but has decided that actually doing anything about it is an abuse of God-Given Freedom (i.e. they really don't want to do anything about it and God's their excuse). Oddly this statement, made openly, was virtually ignored by comparison to Catholicism's douchebaggery. I wonder why the USA, with a single non-Protestant President in the entirety of its history might possibly ignore the abuses of Protestantism in favor of those "other" Catholics.

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

Citation please?

[anosognosia.livejournal.com]

"I wonder why the USA, with a single non-Protestant President in the entirety of its history might possibly ignore the abuses of Protestantism in favor of those "other" Catholics."

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

This isn't about the U.S.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with the Canadian Orthodox church, but bearing in mind how stubborn ours is (and we're a predominantly Orthodox country), I rather think: No, they wouldn't react in a more open manner.

[southwest]

at the very least, the Orthodox priests are obliged (not only allowed, mind you) to marry!

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Yep, and we have some pretty cool anecdotes about priests' wives. Btw a 'priest' in my language is 'Pop' ;-)

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

But bishops and above are to be celibate if I remember right....

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Given the high levels of physical and sexual abuse stemming from the Residential Schools in Canada, this probably won't shock anyone in Canada.

Big protestant churches in the U.S. have had problems with sexual abuse and coverups. It doesn't get as much attention because there's no guy with a huge hat in charge of it all.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

And because the majority of US Christians are Protestant. Naturally Protestants don't like dragging out their dirty laundry, even though Benedict XVI has acknowledged the issue and the Catholic church pays money for it while Southern Baptists prefer playing Pilate and ignoring the issue.

[il-mio-gufo.livejournal.com]

perhaps the sexual molestation of children is much more common than any of us would dare imagine? perhaps it knows no boundaries and inflicts all societies regardless of global location?

perhaps it is time to enforce the death-penalty for child-molesters?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Bah, given that there's been a major issue with pedophilia among leaders of Evangelical denominations without anything like the flack given to the Apostolic Denominations I'm going to state that the focus on those denominations has more to do with the USA's Protestant legacy than it does anything unique about them.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

In all fairness, the majority of Baptist (and similar) pastors is then tend to run off with their secretaries or someone in the choir. And while not denying the probability of same type of pedophilia, it seems to tend more toward youth pastors and Christian school teachers with under aged girls.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

That's not my point. My point is that the people who scream all Catholics are Pedos never do that about Baptists, even though proportionally there are far more Baptist pedos than Catholics.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

I don't think that it will hurt them in the same way. The Catholic Church was hurt because it wasn't just one case, it was wide-spread.

However, if they treat this one the same way the Catholic church did, then yes it could in fact hurt them. The way its already out in the open though makes me doubt that's going to happen. They'd have to be drooling morons.

The fact he's already been in police custody points the other direction though. It might hurt them more than such a thing normally would because of the similarities with how the Catholic Church handled it, but I also think because of how everyone saw that play out they'll be a lot smarter about handling it.

So I say no, it's not going to hurt them very much.