Church Persuasive Essay

694 Words2 Pages

Churches have dominated the religious and social landscape for centuries. From the absolute power of the papacy in Medieval Times, the conflicts of the Protestant Reformation, and even our religious divides today. Today the power of the church is unraveling in their hands. The once powerful hand is now merely symbolic. The Information Age has led to a massive freeflow of information unprecedented in the church’s history. Churches should be become more transparent and adaptive because of the rise of the internet and sexual abuse scandals of priests. The Internet has led to the massive freeflow of information and a huge blow to the closed mindedness of organized religion. According to Valerie Tarico a psychologist and writer, “A traditional …show more content…

According to Peter Steinfels a columnist for the New York Times, “I suspect that many of the extraordinarily large percentage of priests (56 percent) with only one allegation against them in church records were in fact guilty of one or several others that went unreported.” Many cases are likely not reported, whether the victim is too afraid to speak out against the large clergy body. “Between 1950 and 2002,” states Steinfels, “more than 4 percent of the Catholic priests and deacons in ministry were the objects of allegations of sexually abusing minors that church officials considered substantiated.” When you think about the about immense amount of people in the Catholic clergy, the number is substantial. This doesn’t even include those that church officials did not think of as substantial. “Clerical secrecy was second nature and avoiding scandal the first priority.” according to Steinfels, “Bishops dragged their feet even after being alerted to the problem in 1985.” The clergy have prioritized covering up the truth and protecting their allies rather than delivering justice. The closed door operations of the church are outdated. Today is a time of more openness and transparency. The church is too worried about protecting their members over getting justice and protecting the youth. The church can drag its feet. Hide the truth. But no one can do anything otherwise because of the church’s influence to stop

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