WHEN AN ADUIT IS AN INVESTIGATION!

(Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, A.R. Bradley, J.M. Wood)

(Catholic League, T.D. Tomlinson, D.E. Huber)

(William O’Donohue, Olga Cirlugea, B.A. Lorraine)

(Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno)

(R.J. McNally, Remembering Trauma, Frazer Chronicle)

 

First we need to know and understand the difference between an audit and an investigation, to me, both simple and understandable words used on a daily basis in the business world, and law enforcement. There is no mystery with what the words are used for, and their meaning…..that is however until they are used in connection with a sexual scandal that has been talked about for decades.

 

An audit in almost every instance in the United States today is a word used in examination of records or financial accounts to check their ACCURACY! Without exception an audit when mentioned during the course of a conversation would lead the listener to surmise a financial situation.

 

An investigation can mean a multitude of different types of activity, from law enforcement, and an accompanying taskforce to unearth truths regarding all sorts of issues. There can be investigation research, investigation into a family genealogy, or why there isn’t more apple pie. My point is simple; the word investigation has a wide range of meanings…..while an audit always seems to be about numbers, and where those numbers went.

 

It seems detached, and smacks of a seeming lack of understanding to refer to examining the veracity of child molestation cases and history as an audit. Although each case of molestation most probably is issued numbers…..to audit the numbers and to refer to the cases as the same is…..well, not the smartest way to issue statements and quotes to the media and the victims, in my opinion.

 

Another thing that seems to be a short sighted issue by the church, possibly for the sake of expediency is the fact that the auditing body is made up of Catholic officials, especially after a sub-headline in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story reads, “Catholic order issues voluntary audit, concedes cover-ups and mishandled cases.”

 

Are you serious, I’m not Catholic, my dad was, but not me, my mother was a Methodist and for whatever reason we went to church as Methodists. My father actually was excommunicated from his church because his family did not convert to Catholicism. I actually felt his excommunication was an unjust act, and crushed my father’s belief…..in later years he converted to Methodism, and was buried the same.

 

Religion to me has always been kind of hard to understand, like some Christians think Jews are heathens, that Muslims are going straight to hell because of their beliefs, and people that don’t believe in the Bible are…..well, the devils disciples. Seems awful judgmental to me, even when these Christians who read the Bible know that the good book talks about not being judgmental!

 

YOU’RE GONNA GET YOUR’S

I remember when I was about 13 or 14 being told that the Fathers would get the Sisters knocked-up, and an abortion would be preformed, and the fetus was buried in a flower garden next to the church rectory. I believed it, I wasn’t sure what all of the talk was about, but it didn’t matter, a Priest had gotten a Nun pregnant, and the church took care of the problem.

 

 

I’ve done all sorts of bad crap in my life, for whatever reason my wife saw the good in me, stuck around, and waited for me to grow-the-hell-up. For that reason alone, I consider myself as one of the most fortunate men on the face of the earth.

 

I’m better now, a reward to my wife for sticking around with me for all of these years, in hind-sight, I always knew when I was doing something that was tainted, or just plain wrong, and I always worried about going to hell for transgressing…..honest I did.

 

But when you talk about priests transgressing, you’re talking about people that profess to live their faith on a daily basis. These people, both the fathers and the sisters, work 365 days by 24 hours a day professing their faith and belief in the spirit of God and the teachings of Jesus, how could they stumble over their frock and molest adolescent boys or girls.

 

I guess it would illustrate to me that believing, and witnessing for God and Jesus is a farce, a folly of man towards a false spirit, and you know what…..I don’t want to believe in that…..that God is a false spirit. I need something that is on a higher plateau…..I think that we all do.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not gonna go all soft and mushy, I’m one of those people who feel that his faith is a private matter, one between me and my maker. It’s how my mother brought me and my sisters up, at least that’s what I got out of her faith…..”the old bat.”

 

I WILL SAY THIS

For me, the proof is in the pudding, people are what they eat, some feel the need to profess their faith on the highest of mountains, others compose, and others sing his praises. I can’t play an instrument, have a terrible voice, and am afraid of high places.

 

I simply try and live the best life that I can, to not hurt anybody, and to be fair with people, I think being fair and truthful is by far the greatest gift that we can give to another person. I think a majority of us just try and keep our heads above water, and treat people the way we want people to us. It isn’t complicated; it’s how we collectively are made…..pretty decent, plain people.

 

For the Catholic Church to have dealt with the problem of child molestation for hundreds of years, (oh ya, it’s been going on since the beginning…..and we all know that) to simply pull an audit and admit to 40, 50, or 60 cases is the height of stupidity. Exactly who do they think that they are dealing with, a bunch of imbeciles, I’m not Catholic, and I’m pissed off.

 

And the law, those laws that are put into place to protect us, one from another, it doesn’t seem to be working…..and I’m pissed off because of that too. Let’s be perfectly clear here, the acts of sexual molesting a boy are some of the most vile and disgusting of sexual acts. Without exception each act requires fondling the genitals, or the insertion of the adult male organ into the young person. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about the act.

 

There are always going to be people out there who for whatever reason, mentally ill, emotionally challenged, or their mommy or daddy were unkind to them and they feel the need to get even, are going to be attempting to fuss around with young people, or going to take advantage of situation…..like that pervert coach at Penn State.

 

 

 

However the institution that these kinds of people are attached to need to have a weathered eye, to be taught how to identify and deal with these despicable people. I have next to no tolerance for these people, pretty much because they are always a threat to repeat the crime. It’s one of the reasons that I’m mystified by the action, and reaction of the Catholic Church.

 

To discover that a member of their order is so far off his rocker that he’ll go after the most venerable of our species….and simply move this person around from location to location reminds me of the guy who had an eating disorder, and his doctor kept giving him a free pass to a smorgasbord for treatment.

 

Sadly this seems to be just another example of what is going on in our world today…..illustrating once again why we need help.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!