From the Perspective of the Priest Child Abuser Essay Example for Free

From the Perspective of the Priest Child Abuser Essay The article â€Å"A Priest Child Abuser Speaks† from the book Slayer of the Soul was contributed by a priest who wishes to remain anonymous. He is a self-confessed child abuser during his priesthood, and by writing this, he wishes to share his experiences and his gradual climb back into society. He also believes that writing this article would provide a lesson for both the victimizers and their victims, and hopes that the victimizers would avoid committing such hideous wrongs towards their victims. In the article, the priest shares his journey of self-realization as he slowly vaporized the demon that was poisoning his soul and coercing him to do such crimes against children. The priest recalls that he was convicted for abusing children — sexually, psychologically, and emotionally — in the 1980s, and sentenced to 14 months in a minimum security facility. He believes that he was lucky, knowing that a similar child-abusing priest was sentenced for 20 years of hard labor. The priest mentions that life was tough for him both inside and outside of prison. He felt that a lot of people resented him for what he did to children, and believed that what happened was just a lie, no matter how true it was. Some officers, notably a lieutenant who hated him, bullied and toyed with him. Other prisoners were disgusted at his presence, refused to befriend him, or intimidated him often. For his size, he thought that he would not stand a chance, and he saw that avoiding conflict was the best solution. However, not all of these people resented him or was afraid of him. He recalls making some friends while in prison, ranging from guards to cell mates. They supported him and were sympathetic of him, especially at the time when the lieutenants abusive nature went a bit overboard. While in prison, he fought for the system to give him therapy for the â€Å"sickness† he believes that he was carrying. He won that appeal, and the court sent him to therapy twice a week. The Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) provided the opportunity for him to realize the root from which this sickness stemmed. While trying to heal himself, he also experienced rejection from close friends and acquaintances. Life was certainly difficult for him who was branded as a â€Å"child abuser,† which is why he wanted to reform himself in order to reenter society. During his SLAA therapies, he recalled his childhood which was filled with fear, anxiety, misfortune, and harassment. It was at that time when he idolized his parish scoutmaster and weirdly fell in love with him, prompting him into having a sexual relationship with him. It was a very traumatic experience that he knew he had to pull out from. He deducted that this might be the root of his â€Å"sickness† all along, as it was reinforced by an authority figure that it was â€Å"okay† to do it. He was also searching for a father figure, since his real father abandoned him and his family, and his mother declared him as the head of the household. When he entered the parish, he wished to help the children who had no father figure and had an emotionally miserable life. Things boiled over, and pretty soon, he was sexually involved with these young boys. One boy told his parents, and this made him realize his mistake. He mustered the strength to tell their parents that they need immediate therapy, but was arrested in the process when one therapist told the police about him. When he finally got out of prison, he wanted to mend the ties with his family and clear things up with them. However, they failed to â€Å"hear him out,† which was the reason that drove him into an unstable state in the first place. He confronted his scoutmaster and felt betrayed by his insights on the issue involving child abuse, telling him that it was wrong while he was regretting the fact that he believed in his scoutmaster. The damage has been done to him, and he believes that he needs to accept the consequences of his actions and just move on. He mentions that it left a black hole in his life, upon which he was initially placing things to fill that void. However, he realized that it was not the right course of action as he was building his life around that hole, completely avoiding it. Thus, he wished to enter the ministry again in order to help others that are trapped in the same dark cell in which he broke out from, although not completely. The priest mentions that gradually, he was able to recover his life and reform himself into the person that everyone knew before the incident. He was also able to reenter society as himself once again. Hence, he wishes to share his experiences to the world through this article in order to let people know that victims could become victimizers themselves one day, if they are not treated immediately. References A priest child abuser speaks. (1990). In S. J. Rossetti (Ed. ), Slayer of the Soul: Child Abuse and the Catholic Church (pp. 99-111). Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications.

The Old Catholic Church :: essays research papers

Long before Christianity was divided into splinter groups, there was the old catholic Church. Each locality had a church, and each church had its bishop who superintended their spiritual life. All churches and all bishops stood on equal footing with one another. For they were all direct recipients of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Apostles. Each locality applied the Sacred Scriptures to their unique cultures. And from that effort, four great branches of Christianity developed: Asian, Greek, Latin and Celtic. The Asian branch represented the Aramaic and Parthian perspective, which developed into the "Church of the East". It was later called the Nestorian Church. This great church evangelized the Asian world (including China) and gave us the Peshitta - the Textus Receptus in the language spoken by our Lord. The Greek branch developed in the Hellenistic world which later became the Byzantine Empire. Most of the great Church Fathers came from this branch. They were responsible for formulating the early Creeds of Christianity. The Latin branch originated in North Africa and later rooted in southern Europe. The Roman Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations have come from this branch. It became the Classical expression of Christianity during the Middle Ages. The Celtic branch of Christianity has been the minority branch within Latin Christianity for the last one thousand years. But during the first one thousand years of the Christian era, it was the dominant branch in northern Europe and the British Isles. It was responsible for the survival of Christianity and of general knowledge during the barbarian invasions following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Celtic Christianity represented the interaction of the Druids with the teachings of the Bible. It was responsible for the unique personal consciousness, love of liberty, and the curiosity of Western man. THE CAMBRIAN CHURCH The Church of Cambria was the fountainhead of Celtic Christianity from the time of the Apostles and for many centuries thereafter. This was the logical result of the fact that Cambria had also been the center of Druidism. Converted Druids became the leading bishops of the Celtic world. During the early Middle Ages, the Cambrian Church formed the core of the resistance to the dictatorial tendencies of the Roman Popes. During the late Middle Ages and the early Modern Era, its spiritual heirs continued that resistance against the entire edifice of Latin Christianity, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant. Today, the Cambrian Church is in "diaspora", especially in America.

Blood Diamond Essay

In history, it was on 1866 that the first diamond was officially discovered and in the South Africa. Hope Town, South Africa claimed that the first dazzling gems were found in their place. At the early times, South African people’s way of existence was through agriculture. The whole evolution and the development of the contemporary Industrial South Africa have begun with the discovery of this diamonds in the Kimberley area. The discovery of the diamonds was said to be the most intense, vivid and the brightest spot in the South Africa’s economic history in the mid-to-late 1800s. The actual stones are millions of years old and were brought to the earth’s surface through volcanic eruptions of molten rock. The diamond makes up kimberlite or the primary deposit along with alluvial deposits, also known as secondary deposits. The results of erosion from the primary deposit are those that are commonly found in rivers or any watercourse that are along the shoreline. Diamond mining has become an advantage to South Africa and elsewhere in the African continent. On the other hand, this valuable gem had become a source of horror and becomes a dreadful alarm, terrorizing the nations such as Sierra Leone, Angola, as well in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Blood diamond also known as the conflict diamond, the dirty diamond and the war diamond is the diamond which can be mined and excavated in a war zone and be sold. The control over the diamond mines has become linked to the bloody civil wars filled with abuses, hostility, resentment and violence. Blood diamond also known as the conflict diamonds are from areas wherein the recognized government is being opposed. This diamonds are all used to support and finance all kinds of the military actions in opposition to those governments. In a universal point of view, diamonds are valued and are symbols of love as well as elegance and wealth of the beholder. But blood diamonds are actually be implicated with hate, violence and destructions. In several African nations diamond has become the means to power. Because diamonds are transferable, undetectable, easily obscured it lends themselves to smuggling, corruption, a reason to terrorized millions of innocent civilians and financing some of the world’s brutal terrorist. It is said that most of the African warlords uses blood diamonds in order to finance wars. It had been recorded that thousands of people had been forced by the armies to search or mine diamonds. Another sad fact is that the reward of theses people of the hard work of mining diamonds was more or less a mere cup of rice per day. During the civil war, part of the trade of the blood diamonds, people of Sierra Leone were maltreated by rebels, some had also lost there hands, arms and other body parts in the hands of the rebels. In 1998, the United Nations forbid countries to diamonds from Angola. It can be said that it was the first resolution made by the United Nations regarding the support received by rebels through the blood diamonds. In 1990, it was reported that the percentage of the illicit diamond trade had fallen to around 1%. The very first blood diamond that had been found can be tracked down to the year 1866 near Kimberley in Africa. Today, millions of people are employed in mining diamonds across the Sub Saharan Africa because of the gems value and quality. Diamonds travels pick up today-from the mine up to the market place and finally to the hand of the people and nation who are enthusiast and extreme to pay big amount of money and riches just to have such gem. Diamonds are representation of different kinds of images from love and passion to disaster, catastrophe, rivalry, battle and war. The most interesting about diamonds that is also common to all is that all diamonds had travelled a course that is rough-shorn and also, every piece has its own fascinating and interesting story. References Bakhtiar, R. (2001). Diamonds lure wealth, conflict to african nations. Retrieved January 19, 2008 from http://cnnstudentnews. cnn. com/2001/fyi/news/11/22/diamond. history/index. htm Cahill, P. (no date). A diamond’s journey begins. Retrieved January 19, 2008 from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/15842523/

Creation Myths Genesis vs. The Koran - 1354 Words

Creation myths: Genesis versus the Koran Creation myths can be profoundly revelatory of the values of the cultures that produce them. They reflect how the culture views its place in the universe, the relations between the sexes, and above all the relationship of human beings to God. The creation myths of the Judeo-Christian tradition and Islam share many similarities. Both put human beings squarely in the center of Gods creation in terms of His importance, and give Man dominance over plants and animals to varying degrees. Womens inferior place in society is shown as natural rather than a product of social influences. However, the centrality of the myth within both cultures is profoundly different. In the Bible, Genesis is the first book, suggesting its central importance in defining the faith. Man is presented as essentially fallen and sinful in nature, and Gods curse upon the race of Adam and humanitys expulsion from the Garden of Eden is eternal. In the Koran, the creation myth is not presented as a coherent whole, but pi ecemeal through the larger text, and there is no reference to an eternal curse for Mans disobedience. The structure of Genesis, unlike the Koran, is also self-contradictory to some degree. The book of Genesis has become such a clichÃÆ' ©, it is easy to overlook the two very different creation myths placed side-by-side in Books 1 and 2. The first creation myth is a fairly stately, impersonal account of how the world came into being while the second isShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pageswars, Morrow not only compares the two conflicts in detail, but also approaches each war and its linkages from a thoroughly global perspective. This combination of rigorous comparison and breadth allows him to repeatedly challenge longestablished myths, provide alternatives to narrowly conceived interpretations, and offer quite an original take on the most extensively covered conflicts in human history and the decades of unprecedented global violence they framed. Morrow’s contribution here, as