Epstein and the Catholic Church
Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse.
I am baffled, as no doubt many of you are, by the high numbers of individuals holding positions of power and authority who all knew what Jeffrey Epstein was doing, yet who ignored it.
Simply put, I am astounded by the sheer multitude who said nothing, shirked personal responsibility by ignoring their moral duty, and turned a blind eye to protect themselves while failing to protect the young and vulnerable.
Yesterday, the media ran articles about a newly uncovered file from the U.S. Justice Department’s latest release of Epstein files (and of course, there are thousands more files still not released). In particular, the focus yesterday was on an FBI interview with Donald Trump, undertaken in 2006 when Epstein’s first sex crime charges became public. The file notes that Trump called the Palm Beach police chief and was cited as saying:
“Thank goodness you’re stopping him; everyone has known he’s been doing this.”
Never mind that in later years, Trump repeatedly said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme and abuse of underage girls. Or that four years earlier, before that phone conversation, Trump told The New York Times that he’d known Epstein for fifteen years, calling him a “terrific guy,” and adding, “it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
But this kind of news we already know.
For we are all appalled by what hits our TV screens and media feeds each day: the lies, the Trump yarn-spinning, the cover-up, the blatant disregard for Epstein’s victims.
However, what I want to draw your attention to in this blog are the horrendous similarities and parallels with the Catholic Church, and not just at the leadership level, but at the administration level and in the pews, globally and locally, wherever you may live.
We can all bravely say when a predator priest, bishop or cardinal’s egregious behaviours are exposed and brought into the public domain, “Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this.”
#YouToo could be found saying what Trump said in 2006!
My point is this: is it not all too easy to ignore what continues to take place in the Catholic Church and say ‘it’s not my responsibility’ or ‘not my business’?
But if young children or vulnerable adults, including young seminarians, or victim-survivors still looking for justice are consistently being harmed, isn’t it EVERYONE’S responsibility?
And if victim survivors are still suffering all these years because they are still trying to bring the truth to light, such as Veronica Guiffre, one of Epstein’s most outspoken abuse survivors, was before taking her own life, it surely is everyone’s responsibility to play our part and do the right thing.
Here, I add a note worth bearing in mind…
Should you be of the mistaken belief that such things as clergy abuse and cover-up no longer happen in the Catholic Church these days because of stricter policies, I invite you to think again and not be so naïve.
Most of all, I implore you not to join the ranks of those who say such matters are “historic” and thus belong in the past.
Dealing with clergy abuse and cover-up is still a present-day problem.
Bishops and cardinals, and yes, even popes, are still ignoring, denying, and covering up what they knew was happening over the decades and, I have no doubt, is still happening in different corners of the world.
Tackling clergy abuse remains a present-day issue.