Time To ASK Romney About LDS History Of SEX ABUSE COVER-UPS

[Segami]

Portland attorney Kelly Clark talks about child sexual abuse in church organizations.



A lot of people, especially members of the media, are reluctant to ask questions about Mitt Romney's LDS affiliation. It's frequently compared to religious prejudice against Jack Kennedy's Catholic faith. No big deal, we're so much more enlightened now. End of story, right? I'm not so sure. The difference is, Jack Kennedy wasn't a Catholic bishop. But if he were, and we knew about the problem of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and the extensive coverup by the church hierarchy, wouldn't some enterprising member of the media ask at least a few questions?



Because there is an extensive problem with such abuse in the Mormon church, and Mitt Romney was a bishop. From 1986 to 1994, he was president of the Boston stake, which is similar to a Catholic diocese. "Before that, Romney was bishop, similar to a lay pastor, of congregations in Belmont and Cambridge. Each job included both organizational work and counseling." And guess what? The Mormon church leaders consistently discouraged victims from reporting such crimes to authorities. They now claim to have strict rules on reporting, but the very structure of the LDS community makes it difficult to know whether it's made a difference, because it's hard to measure what isn't reported.



After all, unlike the Catholic church, LDS members literally stand to lose everything if they insist on bringing criminal charges against the advice of their bishop or stake holder -- or even make allegations within the church community. (Especially when the perpetrator is a bishop.



Like the Catholic church, the Mormons frequently denied and covered up for perpetrators, who would simply move to another part of the country and start abusing again. (The church now keeps a registry of the accused, making it more difficult.) Also like the Catholic church, bishops frequently accepted "repentance" as a reasonable solution to accusations. Unlike the Catholic church, though, the Mormons are much more likely to pay settlements to accusers. They really don't like bad publicity -- although they're not above trying to protect themselves financially.



Kelly Clark, a Portland OR attorney specializing in child sexual abuse cases, points out:

The structure of the LDS Church has contributed to the problem. By this statement, I mean that, unlike, say, the Catholic Church, with its rigid hierarchy of ministry and its well-defined concept of who is a “minister,” the Mormon Church’s local leadership structure—Stake Presidents and Bishops being lay, not professional, ministers, and serving on a rotating, and not permanent, basis— made it harder for the Church to educate, train and supervise the local leadership to screen, monitor and supervise those who are in a position to abuse children. Additionally, given the large number of church tasks delegated by the Church to its members via “callings”—home teachers, Sunday School teachers, quorum leaders, bishoprics, Scout leaders, etc—the number of “relationships of trust” between “official” church leaders and children are many times the number in other churches and youth organizations.


The LDS Church’s response to child abuse in its midst, until relatively recently, did not materially differ from that of other churches—the Catholics, the Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others. There was historically a consistent tendency to try to bury the problem, to encourage or coerce victims to stay silent, to “let the Bishop handle it” and other similar responses, when an allegation of child abuse arose. Of course, as in any religious context, in the Mormon culture there immediately arose for a victim or for his or her family a kind of conflict of interest, or religious duress, where to take action to report or prosecute an abuser could be seen as attacking or harming the Church. This kind of dilemma for victims and their families, in any religious setting, is always deeply tormenting, even traumatic, especially when in the context of a church such as the LDS, where loyalty to the Church was expected to be complete.

cont'

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/time-ask-romney-about-lds-history-sex

[Bluerthanblue]

1. and the church's history of "lying for the Lord"-

it isn't something they talk much about, but do none the less.

[Segami]

3. This statement “let the Bishop handle it”,...

Mitt was a 'Bishop'....did he EVER handle any sexual abuse cases and did he (as a LDS Bishop) EVER accept "repentance" as a reasonable solution to such accusations instead of calling the police?

[Bluerthanblue]

10. if you can stand it-

this video talks about how the church operates.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mitt didn't lie, evade, and mis represent anything to suit his purposes.

(I have an uncle who converted to mormonism- it is not a good thing imo)

[Segami]

11. Very Interesting to say the least. It really puts Mitt Romney's compounded lying to date

into perspective.

[russspeakeasy]

2. Sorry. There will be no questions about money, sex, Ann's

horse, or about draft dodging. ..Especially, no questions about money, sex, horses, or the draft.
You can, however, ask about what a liar Harry Reid is.

[1-Old-Man]

4. I do not blame Romney for the failures of his religious leaders

I do not blame every Catholic for the abuses performed by Priests or the coverups of them, I do not blame Romney for what the leaders of his religion have done either - at least to the extent that he is not part of that same leadership. On the other hand if he personally had anything to do with it then its a different story.

[Segami]

7. We won't know diddly unless we ask him very direct questions regarding his service.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. Romney was Stake President of Boston. He is and was in leadership of his religion.

So there you go. Let me ask this. Any other religion have leaders do horrid things in Boston regarding this same issue during this same time? Why yes, other 'bishops' did horrid things there and then.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. How asinine -- Harry Reid is also a Mormon

[karynnj]

6. NO, NO, NO

He is not responsible for his church. So, unless there are links to Romney himself this should not be touched. Did you agree with Santorum that Kennedy and Kerry had responsibility for the MA Catholic's church' s similar problems?

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Santorum is a Catholic as well.

He and Kerry introduced legislation regarding religion in the workplace together.

[karynnj]

15. Yea I know this

I am referring to Santorum blaming the 2 MA Senators for MA - and also blaming the liberalism of the state. Here is a link to a DU2 post that quotes the Boston Globe - the article itself is - other than the first paragraph behind a paywall - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=36837&mesg_id=36852

The interesting thing is that Kerry wrote the bill to protect everyone including pagans and Sihks - both of whom had pushed Kerry to defend their rights. Santorum later was a cosponsor because he thought Christians were discriminated against.

[cali]

8. this would be a fruitless and counterproductive move

and for fuck's sake, being a bishop in the LDS church isn't remotely akin to being a bishop in the Catholic church.

[braddy]

14. Being a Stake president is akin to being a Catholic Bishop. Mitt excommunicated people also.

Mitt is destined to become an actual God in his religion, with his own earth to rule over.

[siligut]

9. Perverts find safety and protection in patriarchal religions

One of Mitt's contributors and a Mormon was recently outed for rape. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54519160-78/teaparty-romney-peterson-woman.html.csp?page=1

News that a Utah Republican activist is accused of raping four women — two of whom say they were taken to the Heber cabin where the man hosted major political events — caused ripples of unease Thursday throughout the GOP.

Gregory Nathan Peterson has hobnobbed with the likes of Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, Gov. Gary Herbert, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, and candidates such as 4th District congressional contender Mia Love.

I met and spoke with Shelby Rising Eagle, she suffered sexual abuse from a very early age, and her Bishop told her to just pray about it.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Would-Know-Whole-Story/dp/1439257876

Shelby Rising Eagle's healing journey is inspirational and spiritually courageous. Survivors of ritual abuse and their allies will find positive information they can relate to. Shelby details her journey from early childhood trauma, describing some of the horrific experiences she successfully endured. While many survivors accounts focus on the types of traumas they survived, Shelby Rising Eagle chooses to focus on the lessons learned rather than on her abuse.

Like many survivors of ritual abuse, Shelby Rising Eagle expresses a level of spiritual strength and determination that helped her survive the unspeakable horrors of childhood. She seems to find greater strength within each struggle, becoming stronger and more determined with each passing challenge. At some point in her story Shelby Rising Eagle begins to take on new challenges as she learns to share her strength with others.

There is a lot more, but this post may get locked, so I will post in increments, if it lasts, when I have time.