Tag Archives: child abuse

Brazilian Priest Rapes Teens, Forces One to Have Abortion

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If there’s an organization that attracts abusive psychos, it’s the Catholic Church. Tyrants who crave power are always welcome in the church, so long as they mask their intent under the guise of piety. You may think I am being overly hyperbolic, but how else can you explain how their ranks are bursting with serial abusers? Even in a culture of secrecy with hundreds of billions of dollars worth of capital to maintain it, there are still countless stories of victims who have been brave enough to come forward to expose these monsters.

The latest vile excuse for a human being is Father Paulo Araujo da Silva, a priest in the city of Coari. Seems he had a dream of having a harem of underage girls, and so after grooming 4 of them, he began to sexually abuse them. His lust and need for control were insatiable. He would force the girls to bring their friends along, and would film himself engaging in this sick ritual. Da Silva told them that no other men could date them, for they were his and his alone. When one of them became pregnant, she was forced to ingest a mysterious pill which resulted in an abortion.

This abuse continued for years, until finally one of the victims approached police to inform them of what was going on. When the agents busted in his place, he was in bed with another girl that had only recently turned 18, though it was clear that the affair had been going on for quite some time. The police searched his phone, and found 260 videos of his sick escapades.

The Diocese of Coari obviously tried to distance themselves from the whole affair, offering the typical platitudes offered to victims.

The diocese said “all the necessary canonical measures” have been taken. The priest was suspended and can no longer have any activity in the parish. The Church is also available to work with the authorities in the inquiry, concluded the note, signed by the diocese’s chancellor, Father Josinaldo Plácido da Silva.

We’re all so impressed that the Church is working with authorities. It’s literally required by law for them to do so. As for their “canonically punishments”, it’s just a funny way of saying that they stopped paying his bills. They need to save some money anyways; no doubt they are busy getting their lawyers to draft some form of non disclosure agreements,  and lawyers ain’t cheap.

If the church really wanted to stop these men, they would firstly rescind their own rules which stipulate that priests are not allowed to report abuse to the police, and must instead rely upon the church to handle the situation themselves. This “handling” usually takes the form of shuffling priests around when too many kids get raped, giving these predators a new field of victims from which to harvest. That would be a start. They could also stop sheltering countless priests in the Vatican under “house arrest” and let the law get their hands on them. They roam Italy with impunity, since they are technically residents of a city state that claims to be a nation. I doubt if either of these two things will ever come to pass.

Lets not also forget the incredible power and authority that is granted to human beings by simply holding their positions as priests. Instead of holding these men more accountable, the desperation of the Catholic Church to find employees means that they are willing to overlook serious issues with their candidates. Power corrupts, and it seems that the church is in the habit of attracting those that are easily corrupted. It speaks volume to their character, and to that of their employers.

Here’s hoping that this irredeemable bastard faces the harshest punishment. There is no cell filthy enough, and no prison mattress uncomfortable enough for this monster.

Indiana Pastor Arrested for Child Porn

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I’ve said it before, but it bares repeating: how many pastors need to get caught abusing kids before the faithful realize that there is something deeply wrong with their institutions? Can you imagine the outrage in the news if countless child abusers were found operating in any other institution? First, it would be immediately dissolved, and their assets would be divvied up among the survivors. However, because of the special status that we give religions, they can get away with literal murder, and nothing ever changes.

In Indiana, a former pastor and teacher by the name of Claud Greenlee was arrested after police discovered child pornography on his phone. Greenlee was arrested at his place of work, Liberty Christian School. Some of the images were of children as young as 3 years of age. There was also some bestiality in the mix as well.

We are aware of the situation with Mr. Greenlee and saddened by the course of events. We are fully cooperating with authorities and their investigation. Mr. Greenlee was immediately put on leave when the situation was first brought to our attention. He is no longer employed at Liberty Christian School,” Liberty Christian School reportedly said in a statement shared with Fox 59.

If you’re a parent, I find it hard to fathom why you would place your trust in religious institution. These groups are always brimming with sexual predators. It seems they have a knack for attracting these kinds of people. No doubt the culture of secrecy, and its appeal to authority is a potent combination that is a siren song for the worst kind of folks in our society. So long as this remains the case, these kinds of incidents will continue to occur with disturbing frequency.

I’m tired of writing about all these abusive pastors who have gotten away with abuse for way too long. I have to wonder at what point believers will be just as exhausted by this as I am. I won’t hold my breath, that’s for sure.

Iraq Law Would Legalize Child Marriage

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There is a trick that religious institutions like to use to get people to look the other way at their myriad crimes: accuse your enemies of everything you are guilty of in order to throw people off your scent. This is why the LGBT community is often the target of accusations of grooming and child abuse. This is literally what the world’s great monotheistic religions do: they groom kids into their death cult, scar them with threats of damnation for not believing, and force them to be something they are not.

Let’s not forget that a disturbingly high percentage of them will also be sexually abused, something that happens so often that TGA has run out of ways to write “Youth Pastor Abuses Children”. So, despite the fact that children are statistically safer at a drag show than a Sunday sermon, it doesn’t stop religions from using them as their major distraction.

While folks are outraged at the wrong people, they use the opportunity to try and pass laws that make the abuse of kids and women even easier. In Iraq, a draconian new law is being proposed which would make it legal for men to marry children as young as nine (you know, the age that their pedophile prophet married his favorite sex slave). The horrible taste in your mouth is the result of all the bile that’s invading it at the thought that this has a very good chance of passing.

Women and children’s rights campaigners in Iraq have pushed back at proposals that could enshrine sectarianism in family relationships, hand more power in family matters to clerics and open the door for marriage to be legalized for children as young as nine years old.

The amendments to Law No. 188, the Personal Status Law of 1959 have been heavily promoted by the Coordination Framework, a coalition of conservative Shia Islamist parties that form the largest bloc in parliament.

Wow, with that kind of endorsement, who can lose? Only the poor people who have to live in this country! This is the true face of Islam, and when they are in full control of government, it doesn’t take long for their intentions to be known. The Koran is all the justification that these perverts need to rape children that are in the most vulnerable years of their existence.

Is it the religion that attracts these pedophiles, or does it create them? It hardly matters which one. I suspect it’s both, which to me only amplifies what I have been saying for a long time: this religion is a curse on humanity, and only when the last Muslim has awakened from there toxic fever dream, realizing they supported a faith with irredeemable elements, will we ever live in peace. The marrying of child brides is but one of these toxicities that continues to plague this religion. It is but one great evil among countless others. Any rational and caring human being must reject this philosophy of submission and death before the rest of the world pays a heavy price for the fanatics within their ranks.

10% of Christians Left due to Sexual Assaults

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In a rare move of honest, a recent study conducted by the Lifeway Academy found that nearly 10% of protestants had left the church due to sexual abuse. The survey did not ask, however, if anyone had actually been abused. You don’t have to overthink why they wouldn’t do that. They just wouldn’t like the answer.

It’s not just kids that are getting abused. It appears that plenty of other unsavory things happens to adult church goers too.

Just under half of all Protestant churchgoers surveyed said they were victims of unwanted sexual joking, unsolicited sexual messages, unwanted compliments, and inappropriate glances. Twelve percent of such respondents said they endured those unwanted things while at church.

Sounds like a gas going to these churches. Who needs a subway groper when you can just get molested or harassed in god’s house of worship? What I find very telling from the survey is that only 1/3 of respondents felt that police needed to get involved whenever a case of sexual abuse happened. What the hell is that about? What percentage of people would want police involvement if it were any other institution other than a religious one? There’s even a significant portion that want these kinds of cases handled quietly. No wonder abuse continues to happen. Who wouldn’t want to work for an organization with these kinds of brainwashed idiots?

NOTE: The survey was conducted by Lifeway, which should not to be confused with Lifewise Academy, that delightful institution constantly indoctrinating kids without the parent’s approval. What is with all of these guys and the word “Life” in their title? Is it to make everyone forget that they are essentially a death cult obsessed with blood?

Six Women Accuse Kansas City Pastor of Abuse

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In Jackson County, Missouri, 6 women have come together to accuse their former pastor, a man named Robert “Bobby” Hawk, of having groomed and abused them. About 3 weeks ago, a blog post written by one of his victims, a woman named Isabelle Davis, detailed Hawks grooming behavior during her attendance at the EPIC Church KC in Independence, where Hawk was the founding pastor. She wrote about how during a visit, he put his filthy hand on her inner thigh while the two were watching a movie. Naturally, he threatened her into silence.

It didn’t take long for other women who had similar experiences to read the post, and to reach out to Davis. This would have surfaced earlier, but it appears that when his victims originally came forward, they were bullied into silence:

 “We were shamed, told to stay quiet, and (were) pressured by many in the church, including Bobby, to say nothing,” Bounds said, as her older sister stood behind her and nodded in agreement. “That unfortunately led to these other girls up here with me right now on stage, also becoming the victims to assault.”

Now, things are a little different. The church no longer has the ability to threaten little girls, and so they suspended Hawk, who later resigned. Now the police are officially involved, and an investigation is under way. The victims are hopeful that some form of justice can prevail. With the statute of limitation on child rape, something that exists only because of intense lobbying by religious organizations, it’s difficult to know if any charges will stick. This is why the 6 women came forward, asking for any other victims to come forward. So far, and avalanche of testimonials has come flooding in, so there will no doubt be more people coming forward in the coming days.

Here’s hoping that these women can finally get some justice.

 

The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 358

This episode, TGA exposes the Southern Baptist Church’s stalling on their promise to expose abusers, the Catholic Church pathetic apology to Natives, and the Taliban murdering a gay man and sending the video to his family. All that and more!

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Megachurch Pastor admits to Child Abuse

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If you want to truly understand the horrors of child abuse at the hands of “men of faith”, I believe you should familiarize yourself with the case of Cindy Clemishire. When she was a 12 year old girl, she was sexually molested for years by a trusted family friend named Robert Morris. Morris was a young travelling preacher at the time, and would often stay with his family in the Clemishire home. For a while, it all seemed so innocent, until Christmas night in 1982, when Morris asked Cindy to join him in his room. It was there that he began to molest her, all the while warning her that if she told anyone, it would “ruin everything”.

This sick behavior continued for years, until in 1987 when Cindy told a friend of the abuse. This friend suggested that she speak to her parents about the abuse. Her father was livid, demanding that the Shady Grove Church report him, or that he would go to police. Instead, Morris chose to voluntarily take a long leave of absence from ministering. He blamed Cindy for being seductive, which explains why his wife, Debbie, later called Cindy and said that she “forgave her”. Here’s his pathetic response:

“When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years… In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area,” Morris said in his statement, adding he and his wife met with the survivor and her family in 1989.

Well, give the man a prize for not having intercourse with a child. What idiot would believe for even a second that this guy is reformed? A man who accuses a little girl of “seducing him”, you know that there’s something not right going on in that guy’s head. What he needs is to be held accountable for his actions. Are Christians so desperate for pastors that they are willing to forgive the unforgivable? If Cindy’s family did forgive him, what effect did their pathetic excuse for parenting do to her sense of self?

Here’s the thing: you don’t need to forgive your rapist. Some acts are beyond forgiveness. You would think that someone molesting your child would be one of those. For some religious folks, I guess it’s just another Monday.

Partial Apology by US Bishops Promises Little

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Should every apology lead to forgiveness? This is a complex moral question. It would be tempting to answer yes, and to believe that all human beings are worthy of redemption. There are always outliers in any group, and overall, it is reasonable to assume that the vast majority of people are worthy of a second chance, especially when they make an honest and sincere apology.

The world is more complex than this trite observation would have you believe. It’s not only people who issue apologies. Sometimes, it’s entire organizations and institutions. One in particular, the Catholic Church, has committed so many atrocities over the centuries of its existence that it would take many lifetimes of work to simply identify them all, let alone do anything about them.

One of the many recent scandals it is involved with is the uncovering of mass graves in their 80 government sponsored boarding gulags. The rampant sexual, physical, and mental abuse suffered at their hands has never been full accounted for. The Church, which keeps meticulous records, have provided no helpful documentation that would harm their financial bottom line. Instead, they offered a partial apology that took only part of the blame for what had happened:

“The Church recognizes that it has played a part in traumas experienced by Native children,” the document said, saying “these tragedies” led to addiction, domestic abuse, abandonment and neglect that harmed families.

Played a part? They were the main event! It almost sounds like they want to throw their hands in the air and say: “Well, it was also the government’s fault for sending those guys to our rape dens in the first place”. Sure, the government place them in your care, which was wrong to begin with, but the Church could have showed them the love, compassion and charity they keep claiming to have a monopoly on. Instead, they beat them, starved them, sexually abused them, and countless other horrors that went on for decades. When you need to take responsibility for literal crimes against humanity, maybe don’t start with “played a part”.

To offer a proper apology, it’s important to be honest when it comes to exactly what part you played. Take for instance the part they played in the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany: in exchange for becoming the official religion of the country, they helped the exterminators find the families, often pretending to provide asylum for them but turning them in anyways, and whisking away the perpetrators to safe territory in Latin America when the whole thing went tits up. Those are things they have yet to specifically apologize for as well, or make up for in any way. Instead, they still collect part of every German citizen’s paycheck, unless that persons specifically asks not to. That deal with the Nazi stuck around, unsurprisingly.

This pathetic apology is a way to try and reconcile their Native believers, who feel a great deal of uncertainty about their faith following the harrowing details of the history of abuse. For most old Catholics, who’s ancestors also had their faith imbued at the edge of a sword, enough time has passed that the church’s atrocities are long forgotten. In Native communities, that wounds of the past are still fresh. It’s causing problems for the church’s bottom line, so something had to be done. Their plan? An impotent apology that serves only to highlight just how out of touch they are, and a promise to “listen”. Platitudes and empty gestures. Pathetic.

Islamic Scholar Abused Minor, Threatened to Kill Him

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TGA has been reporting on a number of Christian abusers recently, which has probably given our audience the mistaken impression that only Jesus lovers are abusing kids on a global scale. Please allow me to dissuade this opinion by bringing up the case of an Imam in India, recently convicted of abusing a young boy.

Unfortunately, the news report fails spectacularly in providing important details, such as the bloody name of the monster. They did release details of the conviction however. It seems that the young boy was assaulted multiple times when he attended religious classes, with the old pervert even threatening him with drowning if he told anyone what happened.

This sick bastard will be spending the next 56 years in prison. Hopefully, he dies there, never to spend any more time with young people. As for the news organization which reported on the assault, it’s pathetic that they couldn’t even be bothered to publish the name of this degenerate Those of us actually interested in keeping religions accountable find that this kind of information is crucial. Was it a simple oversight, or were they showing favoritism? I guess it’s hard to tell with bad journalism.

Church Volunteer Arrested for Sexually Abusing Kids

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A woman named Angela Marie Klickner has been arrested by the Mesa County Sherri’s Office over allegations that she sexually assaulted several children. Klickner was a church volunteer, and as such, she had a great deal of access and power over the kids she was responsible for.

The details are scant, and no doubt as the investigation continues, more details will be forthcoming during her trial. We do not yet know how many children were affected by this, or the extent of the abuse.

One has to wonder just how many of these abusers are employed by the church. Judging by how often these kinds of incidents get exposed, its terrifying to consider just how many horrible people there are out there, patiently waiting to pounce on the innocent. I wouldn’t be surprised if the problem only gets worse: churches need volunteers, and the fewer candidates they have, the more likely they are to hire someone with deep psychological issues. Coupled with the fact that religion often masks mental illness, and you have a recipe for disaster.

When more details of this becomes public, TGA will report on it, so stay tuned.

Canadian School Board Cancels ISIS Survivor Talk over Islamophobia Fears

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In Iraq, there is a religious minority that is constantly being persecuted. Although they speak Kurdish, there is some disagreement as to whether or not they are distinct subgroup of Kurds. What is clear is that the faith is ancient, predating Zoroastrianism. They are a monotheistic faith that has a strong affinity to nature, believing that the elements should remain free of pollution. Some call them “sun worshippers”, for they face the sun whenever they pray. They only marry within their faith, which is what has kept them separate from others for the last 900 years.

As you might imagine, a non-Islamic religious group is not very welcome in both countries with strong Islamic presence. Its members are regularly attacked, and one of the more popular ways to do so is to sexually assault young women. They are often kidnapped and sold in an endless cycle of sexual slavery whenever their rapists tire of them. In light of these atrocities, the Canadian government began to take in refugees. Among them was a young woman named Nadia Murad, who recently won a (shared) Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

All of this sounds wonderful, until you realize that the same government who allowed these refugees in the country have no interest in them sharing their story. You see, a couple of days ago, a Canadian School Board had invited Murad to speak about her experiences. The event was cancelled, for fear that her talk would cause “hurt feelings” and Islamophobia.

[S]chool board superintendent Helen Fisher pulled the plug on Murad’s visit, saying she would not let students attend because the book would be offensive to Muslims and “foster Islamophobia,” the Telegraph reported.

Let’s recap here: the school was worried that actually learning more about Islam’s crimes against humanity might make some students critical of the religion. What else are we supposed to do with survivors? Ask them to quietly go away so that they stop exposing the evils of this religion? The West continues to bury its head in the sand at its own peril. You cannot ignore the dangers of Islam, wishing to avoid revealing the truth about the faith in order to protect the feelings of a religion that craves world domination.

Truth is often upsetting to people who live in a world of lies. Let’s also not ignore the fact that when Islam feels insulted, people often die. The religion is so insecure that countless adherents are more than willing to hurt, or even kill anyone who dares to insult it. These wackos need to learn that free expression in the price you pay for living in a democracy. If they dislike it, there are plenty of hellhole theocracies they can move to. Catering to these deadly temper tantrums will do nothing but undermine the very values we stand for.

Here’s hoping that this move actually backfires, and Murad is invited to more schools to share her experiences. I can dream, can’t I?

The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 355

Welcome back to another episode. This week, we discuss a pastor ruining Autism Awareness, police investigating the New Orleans Archdiocese for human trafficking, and so much more. Don’t miss out!

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New Orleans Archdiocese Gets Special Treatment

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Man, it’s gotta be pretty sweet to be a Catholic Priest. You can commit serious crimes and still be protected by your employer. There aren’t many organizations in the world that will go to bat for you the way the Catholic Church will. Now, you might be wondering exactly why the church is so generous when it comes to their defense of criminals. Well, the answer is simple: laws are man-made, and as far as they are concerned, the only one they need to answer to is their imaginary friend in the sky.

As we reported a few days ago, the Archdiocese in New Orleans is under investigation for child trafficking. What we didn’t know until now is just how much support the offenders were receiving:

The affidavit alleges that documents obtained during the Father Hecker investigation show that “previous archbishops … not only knew of the [widespread] sexual abuse and failed to report all the claims to law enforcement, but [also] spent archdiocese funding to support the accused.”…One document cited in the affidavit states that one specific archbishop “was aware of rampant sexual abuse throughout the archdiocese,” but the affidavit leaves out the archbishop’s name.

Talk about privilege. Can you imagine any other organization that was found to have provided money and support to men who were sexually torturing children for decades? Would the police fail to name the people responsible for covering up the crime? If this was a Walmart, you can bet that the entire management staff would be indicted, and the RICO charges would have come around so fast, it would have made everyone’s head spins. Not so for a rich and powerful religious organization. They can sexually abuse countless kids, and still be allowed to operate. If we treated them like other criminals, their organization which facilitated the abuse would be gone; it’s assets used to compensate the families, and the men responsible for failing to stop it would all be getting their heads smashed in prison. Instead, we have this weak-ass response from the cops, who look like they are walking on eggshells to avoid getting anyone in trouble.

Personally, if you aren’t disgusted by this, you’re part of the problem. Let us stop this special treatment of religious rapists, and treat them the same we would any sorry excuse for a human being.

Father’s Pleas to Rescue Daughter in Forced Marriage Ignored

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There is a sad and barbaric tradition that still continues to this day. It’s called Forcible Marriage. It’s essentially a form of human trafficking, masquerading as a tradition. Women have few rights in traditional Islam, and are viewed more as property than a human being. It’s why when 15 year old Muskan Salman was kidnapped and forcibly married, the police have done nothing to get her back, despite the desperate pleas of her father.

I can only imagine the heartbreak at the thought of the things she is having to endure under this man’s captivity. He had already taken her out of school because the eventual kidnapper, a 27 year old man named Arsalan Ali, was already harassing her. He then resorted to abducting her, and forging a marriage certificate, claiming the girl was 19 years old. Now there’s a legal battle to prove her age. In none of the reports has anyone bothered to even ask Muskan what the hell happened. She is essentially in the custody of the husband, and that’s considered fine in the eyes of many.

Part of the reason people have turned a blind eye to all of this is because it’s part of a pattern of behavior in the country. You see, Muskan is part of a Christian minority, and these kinds of incidents are so frequent that the U.N. has called on Pakistan to make more changes to their laws to prevent this form of human trafficking.

“The exposure of young women and girls belonging to religious minority communities to such heinous human rights violations, and the impunity of such crimes, can no longer be tolerated or justified,” they said in a statement issued in Geneva.

Now, because this is the U.N. and their calls are left to voicemail, and it’s doubtful anything will come of this. Muskan will be forgotten about, like so many other young girls forced to live with their rapists and bare their children. So long as this tradition and the underlying faith that sustains it continues to rule, these types of tragedies will continue to occur with terrifying frequency.

Louisiana Archdiocese Target of Sex Traffic Investigation

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It would appear that police in New Orleans are targeting the Archdiocese for a massive child sex trafficking organization. The investigation into these allegations came after the Church had filled for bankruptcy protection after a number of victims had sued them for sexual abuse. The organization had failed to submit internal documents which would have implicated a number of their employees, who benefitted from financial compensation for decades. A judge put a quick end to this.

The details of the case are terrifying. The priests would regularly ferry their victims around to abuse them. This makes the crime fit the definition of child trafficking, which is an even more serious charge than the routine sexual abuse that was happening. These guys even had a habit of sending victims as “gifts” for one another:

“Additionally, it was reported that in some instances, ‘gifts’ were given to abuse victims by the accused [molesters] with instructions to pass on or give the gift to certain priests at the next school or church,” the warrant contended. “It was said that the ‘gift’ was a form of signaling to another priest that the person was a target for sexual abuse.”

One of the monsters facing justice is a 92 year old priest named Lawrence Hecker. Having enjoyed himself at the expense of his victims for decades, justice has been painfully slow. At best, this man will probably die before he even sets foot in prison. Fortunately for him, the hell he preached about doesn’t exist, because he would have a first class ticket if it did.

As is typical in these kinds of cases, the Church has released a statement which is an obvious lie:

On Tuesday, the church spokesperson said the archdiocese of New Orleans “has been openly discussing the topic of sex abuse” for years. And “in keeping with this”, the spokesperson said, “we also are committed to working with law enforcement in these endeavors.”

This statement seems to omit the fact that they actively suppressed information specifically to protect their own abusers. How is that a commitment to working with law enforcement? The statement should have read like this instead: “We have been forced to discuss openly the topic of sexual abuse despite our stonewalling. WE are committed to the rapists that make up our ranks, and will protect them at all costs from law enforcement endeavors”. See, doesn’t that seem a little more honest and consistent?