Anti-Catholic dogma
From Mr Simon Caldwell Sir: James McDonald's letter (7 August) merely confirms that anti-Catholic preju- dice is alive and well. His distorted attack on my article seems to suggest that I desire privileges for paedophiles within the Catholic clergy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
My intention was not to defend anyone guilty of child abuse but to put the case for adults who might have been wrongly accused (as I said, by other adults — and not by children) and convicted under police methods that have come into play since 1991 when the House of Lords lowered the threshold for 'similar fact' evidence and which are so transparently open to abuse. It is for the proper administration of justice that I am concerned.
Therefore, I make my points not because I wish to whitewash the Catholic Church, but because I believe them to be true, and have been encouraged in my convictions by many informed people who are appalled and, indeed, frightened by what they see as the emergence of a great machine for mis- carriages of justice.
On a point of accuracy, Mr McDonald says Fr Chaning Pearce cannot have it both ways by pleading guilty in court, then main- taining his innocence afterwards; but Fr Chaning Pearce has always vigorously protested his innocence of the most serious charges made against him. Of the two charges in which the boys did not know they had been abused (a matter of public record), what is relevant is that they were extremely minor. It is hardly fair for your correspon- dent to attempt to augment their gravity by equating them to the hypothetical abuse of babies and mentally retarded people. Even if Fr Chaning Pearce is not like other men, shouldn't his punishment nevertheless fit his crime? Or do we return to the days when people were hanged for petty theft?
Furthermore, I would like to know what authoritative and reliable source substanti- ates Mr McDonald's claim that up to a quarter of priests are child abusers and that the reason for their predilection is the rule of celibacy. Perhaps this is just dogma.
The problem for us all is that paedophiles find ways to get close to children, and the entering of a profession which presents this opportunity is one such way. It is a mistake to disparage such professions and those who work within them as inherently corrupt. Rather, the sort of cynicism that perceives every adult who works with children as a potential pervert might better serve the causes of justice, truth and freedom if it is tempered by reason and by the frank and realistic admission that, besides paedophiles, there are also some among us, given our compensation culture, who will readily per- jure themselves for financial gain.
My argument is that the wheat must be separated from the chaff and not all cast on to the fire. But I cannot help wondering, if my article was not about Catholic priests, would I have received the some hostile response? I do care about 'the rest of us', but I shall still accept the description of 'Jesuiti- cal' from Mr McDonald as a compliment. Simon Caldwell
The Catholic Herald, London EC1
Previous page
