The Bahamas: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nassau - Most Reverend Patrick C. Pinder announces program to protect children... Says: ...he would never tolerate any abuse within his Archdiocese

Pinder: I won’t tolerate abuse

By Travis Cartwright-Carroll
Guardian Staff Reporter
travis@nasguard.com

Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder said yesterday he would never tolerate any abuse within his Archdiocese and added that he knows of no one in the local Catholic ministry against whom any allegations of sexual abuse exist.

His comments came amid allegations of abuse that have swirled in various circles.

Pinder said it is unfortunate that there are some members of the Order of St. Benedict against whom allegations of sexual abuse have risen.

The archbishop said in a statement, “The Benedictines (Order of St. Benedict) had a long and distinguished association with The Bahamas which extended over a period of 120 years.  They have done a tremendous amount of good for the religious and social development of this community, particularly in education.”

Pinder said he would never tolerate abusive behavior period — whether sexual or otherwise.

Referring to allegations against some members of the Order of St. Benedict, the archbishop said, “This casts aspersions on their colleagues, the vast majority of whom were men of excellent character and exemplary virtue.

“This is a sad development.”

Pinder said he remains hopeful and prayerful that reconciliation can be achieved for those affected.

“I am thoroughly committed to maintaining safe environments for children and vulnerable adults in our community,” he said.

“In support of this, we have launched, here in the Archdiocese, the Virtus program for the protection of God’s children.”

The Virtus program, according to Virtus.org, identifies best practices designed to help prevent “wrongdoing and promote right doing within religious organizations”.

For more than a decade now, the international Catholic Church has been rife with allegations of sexual abuse brought against priests.

Some of the most senior officials in the Catholic Church in the United States and elsewhere have for years been accused of covering up reports of abuse and transferring clergy against whom those reports were made.

Last year, a group of victims abused by Catholic priests filed a formal complain to the International Criminal Court accusing the pope, the Vatican secretary of state and other senior officials of crimes against humanity.

The Catholic Church has spent years trying to sanitize its image amid the serious reports of sexual abuse and widespread cover up involving church officials.

Jun 28, 2012

thenassauguardian

Bahamas: Spotlight on sexual violence

By THEA RUTHERFORD ~ Guardian National Correspondent ~ thea@nasguard.com:



A Bahamas Crisis Centre-hosted symposium on sexual violence held on Wednesday, November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, brought noted panelists together to increase awareness of the burning issue.

Held for a half-day at the C.H. Thompson Memorial Youth Center of Transfiguration Baptist Church, the symposium included presentations from physicians, psychologists, politicians and representatives from both the police sexual offenses unit and the Attorney-General's office.

In addition to remarks from the various stakeholders, students from Expressions of Excellence, the drama group at C.C. Sweeting High School, performed a skit to illustrate the issue.

Her Majesty's Prison superintendent Dr. Elliston Rahming was among the first to address the group, citing alarming international statistics for sexual assault.

One in 33 men and one in six women will be assaulted during their lifetime, Rahming said.

Statistics for the report of incidences of sexual assault were equally dismal, with Rahming noting that 60 percent of cases in the U.S. went unreported. He said that there were no specific numbers for the report of cases in The Bahamas.

"Sexual violence is a very serious problem but again in The Bahamas we see it as a law enforcement problem," said Rahming. "More and more countries are seeing it as a public health problem. When you look at the wide ramifications of violence and sexual abuse, it has any number of attachments — psychological, sociological, healthwise and otherwise, so we agree that we have a problem."

Rahming also shared common myths about the causes of sexual violence and the nature of its perpetrators. "The first is that sexual violence, domestic violence, occurs primarily or typically among poor persons — that is a myth. It runs the gamut straight across the spectrum," said Rahming.

Other myths include the notion that the victim deserves the abuse and that domestic violence is a private matter between husband and wife. Rahming also addressed the "blaming the victim" attitude that questions why the abused person does not leave, noting the psychological complications underlying such circumstances that such reasoning oversimplifies.

"If you have been abused or if you have been sexually victimized, you ought to know that it is not your fault and you have a duty, not an option, to report it," said Rahming. "Thirdly, you're not alone . . . help is available."

Dr. Ada Thompson joined the prison superintendent on the panel of speakers with a talk on the devastating consequences of spousal rape.

"Spousal or marital rape is more common than we know," said Thompson, a medical doctor who is also a minister of the gospel. "I've had some patients who have been raped scores of times by their spouses . . . but because we live in a society where men's rights, in spite of all the declarations we may sign, still seem to take precedence over the woman, then most times he gets away with it."

Weeks after the government's consideration of the proposal to amend the Sexual offenses and Domestic Violence Act in order to ban spousal rape became public, a debate raged in the news headlines between supporters and proponents. Religious leaders on both sides of the debate have been among the most vocal in public discussion of the issue.

Thompson dismissed the claims of those opposed to the still pending ban.

"You have some men of the cloth who are saying that it is not possible to rape a wife, because she is a wife she has given up her right to say no. And of course I challenge that," said Thompson. "She hasn't given up her rights to be a human being and if you violate her rights to being a human being, the right to say no . . . then that is violence and violence of a sexual nature is rape."

Underscoring the importance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women during the symposium, director of the Crisis Centre, Dr. Sandra Dean Patterson said:

"We thought to recognize [this day] by focusing on the whole issue of sexual violence. Sexual violence is deadly business. Rape is a four letter word that raises fear and terror in many, many women and is the source of emotional devastation and pain for all who are violated. It's the worst invasion of privacy that an individual can experience. It violates your physical body but also your soul and your spirit."


December 1, 2009

thenassauguardian

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