Money Changes Everything

I was at the gym when I heard about the videotapes a Delaware pediatrician made of himself torturing children, and almost threw up right there on the treadmill. There are simply no words to describe this level of obscenity. Hellish, maybe. More counts came down today, as police identify more victims. We will all watch his case and pray for justice, but the damage has already been done to more than 100 children, and it is damage that makes a lifelong impact.

Like so many, I have been following the stories coming out about sexual abuse cover-ups in the Catholic church, and the Pope's response. The horrifying reality is that an institution put its needs above the safety of the children it was entrusted to teach. I can only imagine the damage this has done not only in the lives of the victims, but also to their faith. BUT even here there is hope, and the silver lining is that the church is beginning to recognize that as an institution it cannot abide the abuse of children.

Another story came out in Portland last week: the Boy Scouts were held negligent in the sexual abuse case of a Scoutmaster. They were held accountable because they knew or should have known that the Scoutmaster was a threat. The Church of Latter-day Saints was implicated here, since the Scoutmaster had told a bishop there that he was molesting boy scouts. So, is the $1.4 million awarded to the victim enough to get the Scouts' attention? It was lawsuits that started getting the attention of the Catholic church, too. And, here's a thought: the hospital that investigated that Delaware pediatrician years ago and found nothing? Maybe they should face some serious punitive damages too. If money is what gets the attention of institutions, then bring it on. And if it hikes up my health insurance rates, I for one would be glad to pay more if it means protecting babies from monsters.

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