Category Archives: Abuse of Power

August 4, 2013 · 1:00 am

Not Democracy

“Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly” (2 Sam. 13: 19).

For those who may not be familiar with the Bible story, Tamar, a daughter of King David, was raped by her brother, Amnon.  She was denied justice.

Not a great deal of progress has been made in the Middle East since then.  Over 180 rapes have taken place in Tahrir Square while the world watches.  The possibility of justice for these victims remains remote.

As many as 30 to 100 men will isolate a woman, then violate her with their hands, literally tearing the clothing off her back.  Women may be beaten with chains, chairs, and other objects while being raped.  The genitals of some women have been cut.

Public violence against women has been a problem in Egypt before.  Foreign journalists, including Lara Logan and Sonia Dridi, have been assaulted and raped.  Even more disturbing perhaps, a UN survey on gender equality reported that 99% of the Egyptian women responding had been subjected to some form of sexual violence in their lives.

The message being sent is that women have no place outside the home.

A large part of the problem is the fact that sexual abuse is not a crime in Egypt.  Sexual violence may be committed without fear of reprisal.  Police treat rape victims as if they were the culpable party.

Tahrir Square is no Tiananmen Square.  Whatever else the protests ongoing in Tahrir Square may be, they are certainly not democracy, and should not be mistaken for some fledgling version of it.   We should not delude ourselves.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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July 25, 2013 · 1:00 am

Attacked at School

Nearly 100 Afghan school girls are believed to have been the victims of gas attacks last month.

In Faryab Province, a man was spotted running toward the school’s orchard at the time of the attack.  In Wardak Province, police found nothing at the school which might have caused the problem. They could not rule out heat and a lack of hygienic conditions. One of the stricken girls, however, reported a “bad smell” and defended her school’s cleanliness.

These were just the latest in a series of incidents involving school girls. In May of this year, 80 girls were taken ill in Faryab Province; another 150, in Balkh Province.  Gas was suspected. In April, 74 girls fell victim in Takhar Province. The odor of gas was present.

The Taliban denies responsibility for these cowardly attacks. There is, however, great fear that the attacks will accelerate once Western forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 19, 2013 · 8:00 am

Wrongly Convicted

“Happy is he…whose hope is in the Lord his God…Who keeps truth forever, Who executes justice for the oppressed…The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners” (Ps. 146: 5-7).

An Associated Press story recently highlighted the fact that bite mark evidence has lost credibility. At least two dozen of the men arrested and/or convicted on such evidence have since been exonerated by DNA testing. Many of the men were imprisoned for a decade or more.

Levon Brooks was sentenced to life after being convicted of the sexual assault and murder of his ex-girlfriend’s 3 year old daughter. Kennedy Brewer was sentenced to death in a similar case. The “human” bite marks on the little girls were later attributed to crayfish and insects in the water where the bodies were found. DNA testing in both cases matched Justin Johnson who, also, confessed. Johnson had a history of rape.

Cases involving the assault and death of children are particularly heinous. While moved to seek justice for these young victims, we must not jump to conclusions about guilt from a desire for closure. Joseph and the prophet, Jeremiah, were two of the biblical figures falsely imprisoned.

Jesus, Himself, was denied due process and convicted on the basis of perjured testimony. Worth remembering, as we pursue justice.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 12, 2013 · 6:12 am

Scandal at the State Department

Just the latest in a series of scandals, an Inspector General’s Report accuses the State Department of having quashed several attempts to investigate sexual misconduct by overseas officials, including an ambassador.  Some of that misconduct is said to have involved sex with prostitutes, some of them minors, which would make the activity criminal, as well as despicable.

A genuine  investigation is now, we are told, underway.  Evidence of criminality is to be referred to the Justice Department.  That will make a refreshing change from empty posturing, and a ceremonial slap on the wrist.

It is easy to become cynical in the face of such scandals.   That power corrupts hardly comes as a surprise.

A few observations, however:

  1. Assuming that grounds exist for these allegations, it took courage for the whistleblower(s) to come forward.
  2. The children who were violated are no mere fiction.  Their youth and potential are daily being squandered.
  3. The women who sold their bodies to powerful men, for lack of anything else to offer, are more than the smutty jokes made at their expense.  They are human beings living out a tragedy.

It is dangerous to become jaded.  As we become hardened, less and less can shock us.  We begin to pride ourselves in that fact.  Gradually, we lose the feeling in our hearts, in the same way diabetics lose the feeling in their extremities.  Both processes are deadly.

At very least, we should demand accountability, both from those involved in such misconduct and those who tolerate it.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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July 12, 2012 · 5:21 pm

Tarnished

An internal investigation on Penn State’s reaction to abuse by Jerry Sandusky has reaffirmed that Joe Paterno and other officials chose to shield the school’s reputation, rather than the children abused there for over a decade.

Officials failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements; their inaction facilitated the abuse.

Loyal fans have been hostile toward victims, as if their sole purpose in coming forward was to malign Paterno’s reputation.  Handwritten notes and emails confirm that Paterno was aware of the abuse, and actively involved in the decision to cover it up.

That should tarnish his reputation.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 28, 2012 · 5:17 pm

Public Awareness

Recent Pennsylvania verdicts re: the cover-up by Catholic Church officials of pedophile priests, and repeated betrayals of trust by a former Penn State assistant coach have put abuse in the headlines.

Raising public awareness is vital to the prevention of child abuse.  So is public involvement.

Even as I write this, abuse continues.  Locally, news reports indicate a 6 year old boy in the advanced stages of starvation when first hospitalized, was twice returned to the custody of the very parents who had neglected him.

As a community, we are responsible for the welfare of our children.  However welcome guilty verdicts against predators may be, the criminal justice system can only seek to remedy past injury. Prevention is the ideal.  No child should bear these scars.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 22, 2012 · 5:13 pm

Guilty

Former Penn State assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty of 45 of the 48 counts brought against him for having abused 10 boys over a period of 15 years, using his charity The Second Mile to trawl for victims.

One of Sandusky’s adopted children came forward to say he, too, was abused.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 22, 2012 · 4:58 pm

Held Accountable

Msgr. William Lynn has been found guilty in Philadelphia of a single count of endangerment for the systematic cover-up by Catholic Church officials of pedophile priests.

Offending priests were deliberately transferred from one unknowing parish to another at the direction of now deceased Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

The testimony by adult abuse survivors was wrenching. The verdict does not begin to offset their suffering, which continues to this day.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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May 23, 2012 · 4:50 pm

Nuremberg…Again

Philadelphia’s trial of Msgr. William Lynn for the systematic cover up by Catholic Church officials of pedophilia by priests continues.

The defense rests on two grounds: the advice of legal counsel that reporting to law enforcement was unnecessary, since the statute of limitations had run; and the orders of now deceased Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

Of course, the Statute of Limitations had not yet run when many claims were initially made. Often, it was the delayed handling by church officials which caused the statute to run. Nor was there a re-examination of the issue, when the Statute of Limitations was extended by the legislature.

In fact, had the Catholic Church acted in the best interests of the victims, it could easily have waived the Statute of Limitations at any time.

As to the second ground, it was previously raised by Adolf Eichmann at the Nuremberg war crimes trials.  He was “only following orders,” too.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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March 30, 2012 · 4:36 pm

Landmark

A landmark case is being tried in Philadelphia with the purpose of holding accountable in the US for the first time a Roman Catholic Church official for his handling of the sex abuse complaints made against more than 60 priests.

The testimony being elicited after 8 years of investigation and 2 grand juries is as appalling as expected. Grammar school children raped, reports of abuse ignored for decades, the transfer of known offenders from one parish to the next.

Child molesters returned to work with children, monsters provided fresh hunting grounds.

The church abandoned the most vulnerable of its charges. What justice may come out of this is long, long overdue.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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