Sunday, May 02, 2010

The Jewish solution to Catholic sexual abuse

From CNN: Rabbi's pitch to pope: Use family dinners to defuse abuse crisis

A rabbi walks into St. Peter's Square, meets the pope, and tells the Holy Father that one way to defuse the sex abuse scandal plaguing the church is for the Vatican to begin promoting a secular version of Shabbat dinner, the traditional Jewish Friday meal.

Call me a skeptic, but I don’t think rabbi Shmuley Boteach idea will work. I suggest doing something that address the behavior of the offending priests and those who are responsible for managing them, not misdirecting attention by focusing on the behavior of potential victims. Although… if Rabbi Boteach had suggested Catholic parents keep their kids out of church until they were old enough to make up their own minds, well… that would have been a good idea.