Monday 7 July 2014

Religious Institutions & Child Sexual Abuse. Two Phrases That Should Not Be Seen in the Same Sentence.

I'm not very knowledgeable about religion. I was baptized a Lutheran, but never ever went to church. In fact, I know so little about my religion (or any religion) that I think it's safe to say I am an "ignorant agnostic."

That said, I do not dislike people who have faith in their religion. My feelings about people are in no way determined by what they believe in. I don't care if you're Muslim or Christian, as long as I like you for who you are, and you are an honest person (I'd even like you if you were half alien, half ape), I am happy to call you my friend.

But you know what really makes me mad? Hypocrites.

When I hear stories about child sexual abuse crimes being committed by members of the church, I freak out. It is DISGUSTING. Child abuse is disguating anyway, but when people who are supposed to be protectors commit such crimes, I want to curl up and cry. How can they do this? I just don't understand.

I find it rather amazing that on the day I release my latest poetry book, SHE, which explores child sexual abuse in church, an article is published entitled, Religious institutions a playground for abuse.

It states, "In the U.S., 16,787 people have said that they were abused as children by priests between 1950 and 2012, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as reported by PBS. However, child abuse within the church isn’t exclusive to the Catholic denomination." Read more here.

I have decided to donate 100% of the profits made on SHEuntil the end of 2014, to ISPCAN. SHE is only $0.99 cents on Kindle. The cost of a few sips of coffee.

If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle Reader App onto you computer or your Android phone, tablet, iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows 8 PC or tablet, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone.

I know this probably won't help much. But every little bit counts. And I think this is the least I can do for a worthy cause.

I hope you consider purchasing and spreading the word.
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EASY TWEET:
SHE #newrelease—an exploration of religious institutions & #ChildAbuse—100% profits go 2 @ISPCAN—Only $0.99 http://goo.gl/dGSTsT #poetry


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6 comments:

  1. Congratulations on another book, Jessica!
    Yes, it's horrific enough without someone who is supposed to represent God is involved in child abuse.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you're brave to take on a subject like this. I used to be Catholic, but I knew I didn't believe when I was 13 or 14. My mother made me have my confirmation, and then I left the church. Everything that has come out since then has only strengthened my belief that I made the right decision for me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations on the book, and it's wonderful you're giving the profits to ISPCAN.

    ReplyDelete

“I'm using my art to comment on what I see. You don't have to agree with it.” ~John Mellencamp

“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace” ~Judith S. Marin

“I don't ever try to make a serious social comment.” ~Paul McCartney

“I'd make a comment at a meeting and nobody would even acknowledge me. Then some man would say the same thing and they'd all nod.” ~Charlotte Bunch

“Probably what my comment meant was that I don't care about the circumstances if I can tell the truth.” ~Sally Kirkland

“We're not going to pay attention to the silliness and the petty comments. And quite frankly, women have joined me in this effort, and so it's not about appearances. It's about effectiveness.” ~Katherine Harris