I'm all in favor of forcing religious organizations out of the education business. Sexual predators have hidden behind their magic books and clerical collars for far too long. When the victims spoke out, the churches circled the wagons, protected the abusers, and blamed the victims.
Even if there were no predation by priests, religious organizations need to be out of the education business. The only education they should be allowed is Sunday school.
I agree, and their obsession with indoctrinating children before they've reached the age of reason speaks directly to the weakness of the Christian message.
Like climate change, insurers against risk are adverse to obvious risk. We'll soon be free of insurance...but never risk. And like climate change/globo warming, we've ignored religious risk for far too long. Whatever benefits religion bestows are fast being overshadowed by the damage it causes.
Meanwhile in the US people are protesting at public schools because they think that's where the 'groomers' are. Australia is becoming what the US could have been if the Republicans hadn't got into bed with Christianity and Rupert Murdoch. It's no wonder he came here, Australia probably wouldn't have put up with his shenanigans.
That's also the reason why that Dumb Idiot Ham of AiG came to the US as well. The Australian government won't buy his creation fantasies as easy as the religious dummies in the US can.
I have rather mixed feelings on this. While it's certainly a great argument for getting religion out of schools on a permanent basis, the way the taxpayer is being forced to foot part of the bill still seems a bit dubious to me. Unless and until these protect-the-predator churches are forced into bankruptcy such that every last stick of furniture is sold off to the highest bidder, they're getting off too easy in my book; the associated schools should suffer the same.
Now, if the government were to offer to purchase the school property, scrub the religious images away, and then run the school properly, I'd be good with that. Seems to me that everyone would better off that way; but I'm not in Australia so I'll admit I could be wrong there.
Private/religious education is reasonably prominent in Australia AFAIK. There's a lot of it, so there might be a fair amount of political cost if they go after them too much. Hell there'd be a political cost in NZ, even though these schools are much less prominent. Middle-class people know how to make noise.
The insurance companies should tell them "You have Jesus. The savior you follow who is your rock, your sword and your shield. We can't compete with that."
I had that same thought. I can't help wondering if any of the various denominations self-insure. It's common practice among corporations, and after all that's what churches are. I'd like to see someone do an analysis of which insurers are willing to cover religious entities, to what extent, and with what exceptions.
And if there is a good bit of coverage provided by insurance companies, it means that the churches themselves aren't the only organizations with clout lobbying against removing statute of limitations measures for victims. Not just David vs. Goliath, it's David vs. an army of Goliaths.
If the schools and social safety net programs are not safe for the people who need them, they need to be trashed. If the Anglican and Catholic Churches are not willing to properly address the issues, let them die. They should not be protected by insurance anyway, they need to pay the punishments themselves and not be allowed to include the debts in any bankruptcy settlements.
Fuck ‘em. Let them go. The government should have been doing that work all along.
So ... the Anglican Church now as well, eh? Anyone surprised here? Anyone at all? Honestly, if there is a church on the face of this planet where child sexual abuse has NOT occurred, that would be far more the headline at this point.
Also, I'm hearing a lot civil suits in this article, but 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗦???
Unfortunately it's not just organizations of churches, but it happens in just about any large organization that deals primarily with kids. Granted at least some church organizations have elevated it to an "art" form.
But the NEA, Big Brothers/Sisters, Scouts all have had their instances. Of course, they don't claim to be arbiters of morality.
As for the criminal charges, religious privilege is the only reason I can come up.
According to the article, they killed the limit on civil suits, but I don't read anything about criminal charges. Sadly, THAT's the one which would really put the hurt on offenders of ALL sorts.
"Documents seen by the Guardian also reveal that private insurers have abandoned a significant number of schools owned and operated by the Anglican church in southern Queensland, refusing to cover them for new claims of child sexual abuse."
What this tells me is that the church/schools have not done anything/enough to stop future cases of abuse from occurring to the satisfaction of the insurance companies and their risk assessors.
This means in a very practical sense, you would have to be mad or a monster to send your child to one of their institutions.
People used to think that about mass shootings, "it can't happen here". It can happen anywhere, any place, any time in the USA, and sadly, elsewhere also.
If the Australian governement wants to put the last nail in the coffin it can ask the Anglican institutions to reimburse them the compensation money given to the victims. It's what we do for divorced parents who bail out on alimony.
Seems that might be a little dangerous. Watching an intense scene, getting both aroused and distracted and accidentally jabbing yourself with the needles.
Don't have a Bible any more. You don't really need one these days anyway given that if you need to look something up the whole Internet is basically a concordance.
OT : tomorrow DM will have her second round of chemo. Since it will end around lunch time I asked her if we should eat at the shop. She prefers I buy something in case the hospital book an ambulance for her.
Me : "What should I buy for you ? Meat ? Fish ? Vegetarian ? Vegan ? You have time to think about it."
I'm all in favor of forcing religious organizations out of the education business. Sexual predators have hidden behind their magic books and clerical collars for far too long. When the victims spoke out, the churches circled the wagons, protected the abusers, and blamed the victims.
Even if there were no predation by priests, religious organizations need to be out of the education business. The only education they should be allowed is Sunday school.
I agree, and their obsession with indoctrinating children before they've reached the age of reason speaks directly to the weakness of the Christian message.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/121663e18f9f074c53ac263e4f3e4ba41b57aa3a8248827ec2cba0c1ae027c1e.jpg
Like climate change, insurers against risk are adverse to obvious risk. We'll soon be free of insurance...but never risk. And like climate change/globo warming, we've ignored religious risk for far too long. Whatever benefits religion bestows are fast being overshadowed by the damage it causes.
Meanwhile in the US people are protesting at public schools because they think that's where the 'groomers' are. Australia is becoming what the US could have been if the Republicans hadn't got into bed with Christianity and Rupert Murdoch. It's no wonder he came here, Australia probably wouldn't have put up with his shenanigans.
That's also the reason why that Dumb Idiot Ham of AiG came to the US as well. The Australian government won't buy his creation fantasies as easy as the religious dummies in the US can.
Because no one has standing to make the "leaders" propagating that lie accountable.
Malarkey said Jor Biden in response to shenanigans.
Why does the Christian religion need insurance? Isn't their all-powerful god protection enough?
Seems like a lack of faith is being exhibited here.
I'm surprised that you can get insurance that pays out for criminal activity.
There's a child pederasty rider that meets the churches' particular needs.
"Child pederasty RIDER?!?" I just threw up in my mouth ... MORE than a little bit!
Might be for civil damages. Guessing.
I have rather mixed feelings on this. While it's certainly a great argument for getting religion out of schools on a permanent basis, the way the taxpayer is being forced to foot part of the bill still seems a bit dubious to me. Unless and until these protect-the-predator churches are forced into bankruptcy such that every last stick of furniture is sold off to the highest bidder, they're getting off too easy in my book; the associated schools should suffer the same.
Now, if the government were to offer to purchase the school property, scrub the religious images away, and then run the school properly, I'd be good with that. Seems to me that everyone would better off that way; but I'm not in Australia so I'll admit I could be wrong there.
Private/religious education is reasonably prominent in Australia AFAIK. There's a lot of it, so there might be a fair amount of political cost if they go after them too much. Hell there'd be a political cost in NZ, even though these schools are much less prominent. Middle-class people know how to make noise.
How, but not when.
I wish insurance companies in the US would start doing the same. The wailing and gnashing of teeth over the "persecution" would be hilarious.
The insurance companies should tell them "You have Jesus. The savior you follow who is your rock, your sword and your shield. We can't compete with that."
I had that same thought. I can't help wondering if any of the various denominations self-insure. It's common practice among corporations, and after all that's what churches are. I'd like to see someone do an analysis of which insurers are willing to cover religious entities, to what extent, and with what exceptions.
And if there is a good bit of coverage provided by insurance companies, it means that the churches themselves aren't the only organizations with clout lobbying against removing statute of limitations measures for victims. Not just David vs. Goliath, it's David vs. an army of Goliaths.
Are acts of god covered?
Unrestrained capitalism in action.
If the schools and social safety net programs are not safe for the people who need them, they need to be trashed. If the Anglican and Catholic Churches are not willing to properly address the issues, let them die. They should not be protected by insurance anyway, they need to pay the punishments themselves and not be allowed to include the debts in any bankruptcy settlements.
Fuck ‘em. Let them go. The government should have been doing that work all along.
B-b-b-but....that'd be (gasp!) SOSHULIZM!
So ... the Anglican Church now as well, eh? Anyone surprised here? Anyone at all? Honestly, if there is a church on the face of this planet where child sexual abuse has NOT occurred, that would be far more the headline at this point.
Also, I'm hearing a lot civil suits in this article, but 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗦???
Unfortunately it's not just organizations of churches, but it happens in just about any large organization that deals primarily with kids. Granted at least some church organizations have elevated it to an "art" form.
But the NEA, Big Brothers/Sisters, Scouts all have had their instances. Of course, they don't claim to be arbiters of morality.
As for the criminal charges, religious privilege is the only reason I can come up.
But if all the institutions, only the religious have been shielded from prosecution and accountability.
True enough.
Probably a statute of limitations issue. Australian lawmakers need to address that.
They are, the 3 years limitations statute is no more.
According to the article, they killed the limit on civil suits, but I don't read anything about criminal charges. Sadly, THAT's the one which would really put the hurt on offenders of ALL sorts.
"Documents seen by the Guardian also reveal that private insurers have abandoned a significant number of schools owned and operated by the Anglican church in southern Queensland, refusing to cover them for new claims of child sexual abuse."
What this tells me is that the church/schools have not done anything/enough to stop future cases of abuse from occurring to the satisfaction of the insurance companies and their risk assessors.
This means in a very practical sense, you would have to be mad or a monster to send your child to one of their institutions.
"It can't happen here" is not only a political thing. People stick their head in the sand until the tide comes in and they start to choke.
That's not to say there aren't monsters who refuse to believe their children and continue to support their churches.
People used to think that about mass shootings, "it can't happen here". It can happen anywhere, any place, any time in the USA, and sadly, elsewhere also.
Excellent point.
If the Australian governement wants to put the last nail in the coffin it can ask the Anglican institutions to reimburse them the compensation money given to the victims. It's what we do for divorced parents who bail out on alimony.
When you're so scummy that even the 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 wants nothing to do with you...
OT: Soon you may need a VPN to view porn.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/3/23782776/pornhub-blocks-mississippi-virginia-age-verification-laws
Believers in the bible belt states put more effort into accessing porn than accessing their bibles.
Honestly, I do too.
Heathen! ;)
wHEN HOTE4LOS HOLD CHURCH CONVENTIONS THEY SEED A HUGE UPTICK IN INHOUSE PORN.
I would open my bible more if I could knit while watching porn.
Seems that might be a little dangerous. Watching an intense scene, getting both aroused and distracted and accidentally jabbing yourself with the needles.
Don't have a Bible any more. You don't really need one these days anyway given that if you need to look something up the whole Internet is basically a concordance.
According to Christian apologist Josh McDowell, the Internet is the greatest danger to Christianity.
Is he still around? I thought he died years ago for some reason.
Still around at 83.
Too bad.
An aware Christian apologist? Tell me about the winged unicorn you saw in downtown Seattle.
You talking about Fluffy? Dragon, actually.
Ah well, it'll give teenagers something to do won't it.
Good luck with that, Virginia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiFD6EFVsTg
Preying on homeless kids, that feels even more despicable than the abuse at all, and I didn't think that was possible.
OT : tomorrow DM will have her second round of chemo. Since it will end around lunch time I asked her if we should eat at the shop. She prefers I buy something in case the hospital book an ambulance for her.
Me : "What should I buy for you ? Meat ? Fish ? Vegetarian ? Vegan ? You have time to think about it."
DM, while I was leaving her bedroom : "Vegan !"
How does one prepare vegan?
(To Serve Man)
In a solar oven, I recommend a white dwarf.
Get her a nice felafel, with veggies and techina! 😋
DM listen metal, she doesn't eat it.
Petit malin, it's exactly what I bought for me the last time 😁
I expected nothing better than a carrot salad and a bag of chips, I had a good surprise.
POS test. https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/357079032_2072103349800296_6872642087532419252_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&cb=99be929b-59f725be&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=St9fznSdCIAAX8cKcqV&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfCOhnXLu63mDCL2QRCL161oLiQVYKZcb6l6FVqeZTKcJA&oe=64A8BE61