The Challenge to Protect Children in 2019

Fr. Shay Cullen

The world in 2019 has to wake up to the prevalence of child sexual abuse and everyone has to act more decisively about it. Parents, politicians and citizens must be aware that this is a horrendous crime and all must do much more to prevent it and rescue and cure the child victims and bring the perpetrators to justice, convict and jail them.

Sexual abuse of young girls and boys is being revealed as commonplace. This is the dark dirty secret of depraved men and some women. They prey on children to get sexual satisfaction for their twisted often-brutal sexual desires. But the complacency of society and strong liberal trends in human relationships among adults should not give any opening for the tolerance or trivializations of sexual molestation, acts of abuse or rape of anyone.

Child sexual abuse is not the act of a few depraved men, called monsters, hiding in alleyways. This profile of a child abuser is wrong. The abuser or rapist (mostly men) is an outwardly, friendly, apparently kind, smiling, generous but manipulative person and is a secretly dangerous predator. No one profession seems to be beyond the acts of sexual abuse of children and young girls.

Even biological fathers, brothers, cousins, grandfathers, live-in partners, family friends, boyfriends, a cardinal, bishops, priests, doctors, professors, teachers, laborers, sports coaches, swimming instructors and even presidents themselves abuse children. The Philippine president admitted recently that he too fell into temptation when he was a teenager and sexually abused a maid when she was sleeping, causing outrage, and the revelation is denied as true by the government press office.

People in general treat these acts of abuse with too light an attitude of tolerance and resignation perhaps but the value of human dignity is greatly diminished everywhere by every single act of abuse. This leads to the degradation of society and the descent of the human race into a child-abusing species. Humanity itself is tarnished and degraded.

No other species is known to abuse their own offspring other than our cousins- the chimpanzees- and this is rare of them. They know no better and do not have reason. They cannot exercise thinking and do not have a moral sense of right and wrong, good and bad, true and false. Nor do they have free will to choose good or bad. They follow their instincts.

But we humans do have reason and free will to choose to do good or bad and that’s what makes us human. Indifference, apathy, inaction, leaving it to others and doing nothing ourselves is an intolerable silence. That can be looking the other way when we know of a child having been abused because we are afraid to speak out and afraid to challenge both the abuser and the system that allows it. Child abuse happens with great frequency from bullying, physical and verbal abuse to sexual abuse and child rape. In many cases the authorities and society ignore it. Even parents ignore the abuse of their own children at times when it is in their interests to do so.

An 11-year old child, Shane, is a victim of abuse and her traumatic experience began when her stepfather began to hurt her physically and threaten her with a knife. He began to sexually molest her while her mother looked on. Her mother said, “Daddy is just being affectionate to you.” Shane resisted at first but was overpowered and forced to suffer the pain and fear.

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Help Indonesian Tsunami Victims

Appeal by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo – Incoming FABC President for Indonesian Tsunami Victims

RESPECTED YOUR EXCELLENCIES, YOUR EMINENCES, RESPECTED ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS AND FRIENDS,

 At the dawn of New Year 2019 we are horrified by the pre-Christmas tsunami tragedy that struck Indonesia. At least 430 people were killed on Saturday 22 December 2018 when the tsunami sparked by under water landslides from an erupting volcano — swept through the Sunda Strait, leaving about 1,500 injured and almost 22,000 displaced in villages on the Java and Sumatra coasts.

This huge tragedy make me recall the pain and suffering when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar 10 years ago, some 140,000 lives were lost and 800,000 were displaced.

On the eve of the new year, my thoughts go out to the populations of Indonesia, affected by recent violent natural disasters, which have caused serious losses in human lives, numerous people missing and homeless, and extensive material damage.”

We mourn the numerous deaths and untold suffering the tsunami has left behind at the dawn of the new year 2019.

As a first step, let me invite my brother bishops, pastors and catechists, as well as all religious and lay sisters and brothers to join in praying for the victims and for their loved ones and express our spiritual closeness to those who are affected by the tragedy by imploring God’s consolation in their suffering.

Secondly, in my new year message I join pope Francis to make urgent appeal that these unfortunate brothers and sisters may not lack our solidarity and the support of the International Community.

Thirdly, let us collectively look for ways we could tangibly alleviate the sufferings of our Indonesian brothers and sisters.

“12 Dangerous Provisions of GMA’s Federal Charter”

1 January 2019
By LAIKO WARRIORS

Last December 11, the House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved Resolution of Both Houses No. 15 (RBH 15), which contains a draft Federal Constitution and seeks to shift to a federal form of government.

This draft Federal Constitution, also called as the GMA Federal Charter, contains at least twelve (12) dangerous, anti-Filipino, anti-youth, anti-NGO, and anti-democracy provisions, said the group called Laiko Warriors.

Laiko Warriors is a group of individual businessmen, lawyers, doctors, media practitioners, professionals, lay leaders from various lay and non-lay groups, among others.

Last December 19, or six days before Christmas, they gathered and met, with Manila Auxillary Bishop Broderick Pabillo in attendance. They want to specifically confront the issue of federalism, particularly the GMA Federal Constitution. The group believes that the GMA Federal Constitution, if put into effect, will have grave adverse effects on the lives of Filipino people, and would eventually destroy the nation.

After the studying the GMA Federal Constitution, the group was able to identify at least twelve (12) dangerous, anti-Filipino, anti-youth, anti-NGO, and anti-democracy provisions. These are – –

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