From: an Orthodox friend
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian

Subject: Re: Speaking of Anglican Lawsuits.

> On Tue, 05 Feb 2002 23:20:03 +1100, israel r t <>

> wrote:

>

>

> >Judging from what you have posted, child abuse seems to be a wide

> >spread problem in church schools.

> >

> >It is a shame that the churches cannot run schools that actually look

> >after children.

>

> And another bit, Notice the rate of churches in the states closing (50

> per week).

>

>

http://www.courierpress.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?200012/02+abuse120200_fandv.htm

> l+20001202

>

> Abuse allegations from past take toll on many churches

>

>

> Across the United States, churches are dying at the rate of 50 every

> week. Their cause of death is not lack of faith, but lack of finances.

> Half of our nation’s churches have fewer than 75 members.

> In Canada, churches have greater financial problems, aggravated by

> lawsuits that affect entire denominations. The Anglican diocese of

> Cariboo in British Columbia faces bankruptcy this year, and the

> Anglican national office will shut down altogether. Several Roman

> Catholic religious orders face the same fate, as do the United Church

> of Christ and the Presbyterian Church.

>

> Even Canada’s federal government is being sued. Ottawa has

> appropriated $245 million as a “healing fund” in hopes of escaping

> further demands for compensation.

>

> The grievances come from populations native to Canada who attended 100

> government-funded residential schools, operated from the 1880s until

> just four years ago by major Christian denominations, 60 percent of

> them by Catholic religious orders. Over the years, as many as 100,000

> native children were served. The complainants insist they were served

> badly.

>

> Thousands of aboriginal Canadians have sued the churches and

> government, alleging child abuse.

>

> Apparently, they have a case.

>

> In 1996, responding to the Assembly of First Nations, the Canadian

> government authorized a royal commission to investigate complaints.

> The commission documented a long history of beatings, sodomy and rape

> of male and female students by school staffers. The conviction of 10

> staffers only encouraged more former students to press lawsuits.

>

> Rather than challenge the grievances in public, the Canadian

> government has settled 300 claims out of court for $18 million, but

> 6,200 are outstanding and 80 new claims are made every month.

>

> How was such a scandal buried for more than a century?

>

> The Economist blames it on missionary fervor turned sour. The schools

> were originally created “to transform these ‘savages’ into ‘civilized’

> productive citizens.” Such was the educators’ zeal that they took

> children from their families and confined them in remote locations

> “where they were poorly fed and clothed, indifferently taught, forced

> to work long hours and whipped if they spoke their native languages.”

>

> The churches ran the schools under contract with the government, which

> turned a blind eye to their operation in this horrific exception to

> the separation of church and state.

>

> The churches and government have both apologized, and the churches

> have asked for forgiveness. But the native-born insist they are still

> suffering from their treatment as children, blaming the schools for

> the high rates of divorce, alcoholism, sexual abuse and suicide in

> their communities.

>

> Churches are vulnerable to lawsuits in the United States, too, for the

> behavior of their employees. Doctors can be sued personally for

> malpractice, but only for professional behavior. When clergy are

> accused of abuse, complainants sue the church on the grounds that

> clergy have no private lives but are always on the job.

>