== CHURCH SEX SCANDAL: MANY THINGS TO LEARN ==
Namaskar,
For decades and decades the Catholic Church has been riddled by sexual
abuse and scandal. Yet, it all remained hidden for a long time. Now it
is rising to the surface as their own followers are coming forward with
their personal accounts and tales of abuse by priests. This has become a
huge public scandal for the church.
In addition, recent reports reveal how the Pope himself was also
involved in this long-standing problem.
Even though Ananda Marga is not a religion - ours is universal dharma -
we should examine how issues of sexual abuse became rampant within the
church as well as why those cases were effectively covered up for
generations and generations. We should take note of the problem not just
as the downfall of a particular religion but also how we can prevent
such incidents in our Marga.
Finally, we shall review why Baba has termed neo-humanism as a "weapon"
to clean up the entire humanity and put an end to all dogmas.
PRIESTS ARE INFALLIBLE
All the various religions have taken hold of society in one way or
another. But the main thing they have in common is creating a scripture
and doctrine that pronounces their priests on a pedestal. Their priests
are deemed as infallible - i.e. God's chosen representatives. Without
them, one cannot enjoy the kingdom in heaven.
Church officials can then use their unquestionable authority as divine
leaders for their own self-interest and even crude sexual dealing - as
we now see.
In AM we have monks and nuns, but there is no priestocracy because in
Ananda Marga, our Dadas and Didis are not "middle-men" between the
sadhaka and the Supreme. But in the church it is like that.
Basically, religions like Catholicism rule society by creating all kinds
of unfair laws - against women, lay people, outsiders etc - and then
proclaiming their own priests as demi-gods. This entire agenda is then
wrapped in the tinsel of godhood.
That means if anyone does not follow the priest rulership, they will not
enjoy the eternal bounty of God, instead they will be doomed to hell
fire. With this fear complex and air of superiority, the church easily
rules over the masses. It has been this way for centuries.
And the main precept is: The priests are infallible and beyond question.
By this way, the lay people become second class citizens at the mercy of
the all-powerful priest. Even in today's materialistic society, still
church officials carry tremendous clout.
That is one of the main reasons why Catholic priests were able to get
away with all kinds of sexual abuse from pedophilia to homosexuality and
much, much more - for decades and decades if not centuries.
They were deemed as infallible, beyond reproach, and God's divine
messenger. In that case, what wrong could they do?
CANON LAW:
PRIESTS NOT SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL COURT
A second major contributing factor to the ongoing sexual abuse scandal
in the Roman Catholic Church is canon law.
Church officials and priests are not subject to state law etc. Instead
they have their own canon law. But when that canon law just rubber
stamps a priest's innocence regardless of what sin they commit or what
hell they do, then the priest need not answer to anyone. Then there is
no law to which they must adhere.
For this reason, there has been systemic sexual misconduct in the
church. Because via canon law they covered it all up and brushed it
under the rug.
Whereas if anyone in the general society is convicted of pedophilia,
child molestation, or anything else, then that stain will remain on
their permanent record and their name will be publicly listed on
official websites as being sexual predators. They will have a criminal
record and be followed by the courts in their every dealing.
But the church does not operate with such strictness. To appear pristine
and pure, they never address their issues publicly, unless someone else
has brought the affair to the fore. And most often, the church merely
overlooks the matter entirely. The sexual crime remains but a piece of
paper in the file cabinet of one bishop, far beyond the reach of the
parishioners and state officials.
Thus when priests are deemed as infallible and when the governing body
of the church overlooks their wrongs via canon law, priests literally
have license to do as they please. In that case they can and will commit
so many atrocities.
That is why the floodgates have now burst. After years and years of
cover-ups, people are coming forward to report all the hellish
behaviours of those priests.
Indeed, today the church is confronted by tens of thousands, if not
hundreds of thousands, of cases of sexual abuse. Many cases remain
unreported - but certainly people are coming forward and demanding
justice. What was covered up for years behind the cloak of the church is
now pouring into headlines around the globe.
WHY ABUSED DID NOT COME FORWARD
Even though some victims are making claims today, for generations,
hardly a single person was willing to bring the matter in the public
arena. There are many reasons for this.
Firstly, many little boys who may have told their parents about being
touched etc, were simply not believed. Parents could not fathom, nor did
they want to think, that their child had been sexually abused by a
priest. This is one reason why a case was not brought forward. That
happened within the family.
Then of course there were many ways that the church had for dealing with
this. Often the church simply blamed the victim for enticing the priest
and imposed such a guilt complex on the victim that they were ashamed to
come forward. Or the church warned the victim that it was a sin to speak
openly about this issue, so the only option was to remain quiet. And
finally, the priests told victims that if they kept this to themselves
they will be rewarded in heaven.
Plus there are so many other strategies and justifications the church
employed in order to keep the matter hush-hush and unknown.
Then there is an entire group of victims who became utterly terrified of
the priests. There were emotionally scarred and did not even dare
receive the holy sacrament from such priests as that would entail being
touched by them or being whispered to in the ear by the priest. When
they were so hurt, they have neither the courage nor the strength to
come forward and fight an institution as mighty as the churhc
SHORT HISTORY OF SEXUAL CASES
SINCE 2000
That era of utter silence has now mostly passed. Dirt and grime can only
be covered up for so long. Even then many remain silent - forever
scarred by the abuse, breach of trust, scandal and shame.
Here is but a brief glimpse of some of the sexual abuse issues since
2000. The below represents a mere fraction of what actually transpired.
However, each and every day the list grows and becomes more steeped in
rampant abuse and irresponsible governance.
2002 Vatican issues directive that all sexual abuse allegations should
be reported to Rome
2002 Rev. Paul Shanley, former priest of the Archdiocese of Boston
arrested, charged, and convicted of abusing numerous boys
2002-US cardinals travel to Rome for emergency meeting with Pope re.
sexual abuse scandal
2002 Cardinal Law of Boston resigns as Archbishop and moves to post in
Vatican
2004 John Jay Report, commissioned by the US Bishops, says more than
4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in
the last 50 years, in cases involving more than 10,000 children - mostly
boys
2004 Archdiocese of Portland files for bankruptcy
2007 Spokane Diocese agrees to pay sexual abuse survivors $48 million
2007 Archdiocese of Los Angeles agrees to pay survivors $660 million
Thus, the church can no longer deny that there is a problem. The only
question is how will they resolve issues of the past and prevent future
scandals. Regardless, they may never be able to regain the trust of the
people.
In Europe, the massive churches are mostly empty. The continent has
become a lost cause for the church. Christianity is doing comparatively
better in the US, but mostly their so-called success is found in the
"developing nations".
This too however will be short lived because once the people are armed
with the ideals of neo-humanism, the irrational and dogmatic ways of the
church will no longer appeal to them.
HOW MONKS CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN CHRISTIANITY
Let's now take a look how celibacy came into being in the Catholic
Church as well as why it could not become a successful practice.
Christianity is about 2000 years old whereas the eastern religions like
Hinduism and Buddhism are much older. So those early Christian leaders
took a look, albeit a superficial one, at what was happening in the east
and they saw that huge respect was given to monks who practiced
celibacy. So it was incorporated into certain sects of Christianity as
well. This was one way to present the priest class as being "divine" and
better than the general public.
What the church officials failed to emulate however were all the
stringent codes of conduct that monks in the east followed:
Vegetarianism, fasting, asana, pranayama, sadhana, tapah, no
intoxicants, yama and niyama etc. This is not to say that every monk
from an eastern tradition is tried and true. Only we are to understand
that those who are successful adhere to a pure way of living.
But in Christianity, they only copied the point of celibacy. They failed
to copy any sentient lifestyle practices. Hence their priests indulged
in tamasik foods, crude drink and had no real spiritual base. In that
case they were an accident waiting to happen. It was impossible for them
to lead a disciplined life when their entire constitution was littered
with static properties. In that case their baser propensities were just
growing and growing.
It comes as no surprise then that for centuries, the Catholic priests
have been submerged in crude pursuits like child molestation etc.
By Baba's grace our Marga is not like that. Baba has blessed us with a
proper way of living. No doubt we are not scandal free, but anyone who
sincerely follows 16 Pts will lead a blessed life. Sixteen Points fuels
the sadhaka - family person or sannyasi - in a wholly positive direction.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AM AND RELIGIONS
All in all, there is a heaven and hell difference between Ananda Marga
and the existing religions. We should be aware of these basic
differences. That will give insight as to why AM will succeed where the
religions failed. Slowly, slowly the whole globe is search of truth - a
way to reach God - and we should be able to clearly elucidate the
differences so none think that Ananda Marga is merely an off-shoot or
combination of certain religions.
The following points have been well outlined in the book, "The Flame
that Burns Upward" (1974) by Jagadishwarananda. Here the chief
differentiations between AM and the dogmatic religions are merely listed
for your review:
(a) Ananda Marga does not recognise holy river or holy places.
(b) Ananda Marga is determined to put an end to priesthood.
(c) Ananda Marga has made heaven and hell non-existent.
(d) Ananda Marga discourages prayer, worship, rites, rituals etc.
(e) Ananda Marga has created disenchantment about religious thread and
pigtail, ie sacred thread and sacred hair.
These are some of the basic differences between our Ananda Marga and the
various religions. Some other differences are related with our social
outlook. Christianity rallies around capitalism whereas our Ananda Marga
advocates Prout.
Furthermore, anyone familiar with the ideals of AM can list more
differences.
WHAT WE SHOULD LEARN FROM ALL THIS
For us, seeing what is happening in the Catholic church is a lesson.
We must always remember that priests are not infallible and that anyone
can err, regardless of their dress.
Of course our AM scriptures do not proclaim that avadhutas are
infallible nor do they proclaim that avadhutas are a medium between the
sadhaka and God, but if we are not careful we can fall into that hole.
In that case so many dangers and scandals will come our way.
Thus we should remember that all must live up to the ideal of Ananda
Marga codes of conduct. That is the main thing. Just being an avadhuta
is not enough. That way of life is a practice, not a position.
Baba says, "Bear in mind that people may be harmed or misled by even a
small weakness or defect in the conduct of an a'ca'rya. Just as it is
the duty of a father to educate his children properly by his good
conduct, an a'ca'rya should always instruct by his exemplary actions and
words." (AV-31)
Thus, everyone in AM, family person or Wt, must adhere to the codes of
conduct as given by Baba. Should anyone drift from that conduct they
should be pointed out - and if applicable, exposed in front of the law.
We must not tolerate even an ounce of wrongdoing, otherwise we will face
a similar scenario as is unfolding now with the Catholic Church. We
should not lose the faith of the masses when all around the globe people
are looking for someone to lead them unto the path of beatitude and peace.
One other point to bear in mind is this:
Baba says, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." (AV-33)
For centuries, the Catholic church possessed extraordinary power,
wherein they were not answerable to any law whatsoever, and that led to
their demise.
In AM, everyone person, regardless of their post, must be answerable for
their own behaviour - no one is exempt from review.
NEO-HUMANISM AS A WEAPON
When Baba first gave neo-humanism then He said that you now have the
"weapon of neo-humanism". Those days few understood since in that time
the atom bomb and long range missiles were thought of as powerful
weapons. How could a philosophy be a weapon.
Now we know.
Wherever neo-humanism is propagated, the masses become aware and dogma
gets exposed. In that case, no one can rest on their so-called sacred
position and claim themselves as divine.
Over time, people have thought of kings, queens, priests, politicians,
actors, war heroes, and athletes as being divine. Due to Baba's grace,
the collective human consciousness is rising and before our very eyes we
are witness to the fall of crude leaders in all realms of life:
financial, political, social and religious.
With the spread of neo-humanistic ideals - as is happening now - there
is nowhere for crude leaders to hide. All must face their misdeeds. That
is what the people demand.
With the propagation of neo-humanism, our human society will be rid of
old dogmas and enter a whole new era. What is happening now with the
Catholic Church is no coincidence. It is a direct result of their
dogmatic ways combined with the supreme advent of Parama Purusa and
divine His teachings.
Baba says that the dogmatic religions are going to die. And indeed now
they are getting exposed and being torn down by their own followers. The
Pope and his Catholicism are facing this as we speak.
BABA'S BLESSING
Baba's divine cosmic grace is working and this entire world is changing
fast every day. Ananda Marga is the real thing; it is dharma for the
welfare of all. We should represent His teachings by our conduct and not
let our Marga fall like as happened with the dogmatic religions.
Baba says, "Your ideal is represented by your conduct. Your learning,
your social or economic status have nothing to do with your ideal." (AV #13)
Namaskar,
Punya'tman
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Psychic Disease: False Health Problem
Even though they do not have any physical problem, psychically diseased
people mentally suffer and cry and complain about different imagined
physical ailments. Such types of psychic diseases are called mania.
Following is one example:
Baba says, "There was another person I knew who was quite healthy and
carried out his daily activities with ease, and yet he was under the
impression, for no particular reason, that there was some trouble in his
stomach. Actually there was no disease; he was in good health. Yet
occasionally he used to come to me and complain that there was some
disorder in his stomach. This was his [psychic disease] of mania."
(APH-5, p. 347)
Herein lies the solution:
Baba says, "One of the numerous benefits of sa'dhana' is that it keeps the mind
free from psychic disease." (APH-5, p.348)
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