Sins of the Fathers
 

We (our congregation - church) just got its new billing statement for libility insurance.
As a Church our libility insurance almost double over last years insurance bill. Reason given. Exceptionally high insurance awards in lawsuits against ministers and priests.

Well, we know who is paying for the Sins of the Fathers and Ministers. It isn't the Catholic Church or the denominations. Its all our local churches in the form of insurance premiums.

Keith :d:

Insurance
 

In Boston the Catholic church has taken out a 90 million dollar insurance policy. This is coverage for law suits.
(I hear there is a two alter boy deduction.)

Stay healthy,
Andy

Two Altar Boy Deduction
 

Brother Tom,

You is sick! Best one I've heard! :D
Thanks for the seeing the humorous side.

Keith

P.S. I'm still angry that everybody is paying for their sins. And, many of them took place years ago.

A society that loses its sense of outrage is doomed to extinction

Wazza...
 

Good choice of words, Mate. Still, isn't it too bad that The Public in general doesn't get just as incensed about our rulers' flagrant sexual misbehaviors, and even sexual: "Misdemeanors"(?)???

After all, don't all politicos similarly as The Clergy also sort-of take oaths that "They" TOO will strive to honorably protect and assist their followers (re. The People) above all else?
So, and since such honorable behavior is quite a rarety amongst politicians, why don't people get just as outraged towards their political lords just as well?

Do rulers have some-sort-of Papal Dispensation (just joking)?
Joking aside, I believe the truth of the matter regarding the lack of public outrage at the misuse of power over others and shenanigans, as are normally displayed by many politicians,...are totally understandable. Besides, and since: "You can't fight City Hall" is factual,...that you also can't SUE City Hall, is also quite true.

So unfortunately, and since religions just like governments have no money perse, other than what's gleaned from parishioners and/or The Public, no matter whom gets sued,...it's always only: "We The (Schnooks)", whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or whatever THAT DO THE PAYING (both financially and spiritually).
Still,...will such ever change?

Neil

Keith...
 

This is very unfortunate, as individual Church Members will have to dig a little deeper to keep the organization going forward and intact. I wouldn?t be at all surprised to see a lot of smaller congregations having to close their doors and that would be a tremendous loss for no good purpose.
As the ripple effect goes out, I wonder just what the perps think about the results of their hypocrisy and lust. I?m not all that well schooled in the aberrations of the human condition, but I would think that they must have some thoughts, maybe.

But I?m prepared to think that the perps are so far gone in their abnormality that they have managed to totally externalize any guilt or culpability. And perhaps they even have the thought that they are right and everyone else is wrong. I see that the ACLU is all signed up and supportive of the NAMBLA so I?m getting even more skittery and hard-nosed about what I think of it all. It seems that one segment of our culture is defending and supporting pedophilia and another segment is paying the bills and dealing with the resulting human calamity. Truly, there is something wrong with this picture, real wrong.


Scamp

Scamp
 

This increase of of libility insurance will definitely have an affect on some smaller independent congregation. My wife works for a Methodist Year Round Camp and Retreat Center. They do a complete Police background check of anyone in leadership at a retreat or overnight campout. So if you are renting their facility you must give a list of your leaders and they do a background check on your leaders. I believe the cost is $35 per background check. Which in added to your user fee. It is now recommended that all people in leadership roles have background checks done on them within the local church (all denominations are doing this), because Sunday School teachers, Boy Scout leaders, etc are good hiding places for perverts. Yet, the cost of all this goes to local church to carry.
The good in all this is: the new measures are unveiling quite a few people with police records as pedophiles. It is making it harder for them to hide. Denominations are developing Risk Management policies to protect their children.

The down side is the cost. We get our insurance from a nationally known major insurance company. So, I assume that this increase must be affecting everyone else similiarly. Smaller congregation will be hit the hardest. I don't know of any church that will have to close their doors but I'm sure it will happen, and that is sad.

Keith

Keith ..........
 

It all gets back to the issue of self-policing and self-cleansing and I?m sure a quite a number of denominations have a significant head start in building effective loss prevention/screening processes and procedures. In times ahead I expect that we?ll (Nevada) see State and County licensing procedures similar to those currently in place for child day care centers applied across the board to all supervised child activities. Currently, if a Church has a daily childcare center they are subject to licensing requirements but this doesn?t seem to apply to Sunday school and those kinds of activities. I?d hate to see things need to go that far as it seems to steal from the meaning of it all but it may be a necessary cost of even having a Church at all.

And it seems a pity that symbolic electric fences and guard towers have to be built to keep the perps out, but to not do so puts the children and the entire organization at serious risk. Difficult Church decision times for sure and I?m positive that more than a few Church Boards and/or leadership groups are really struggling with the issues.


Scamp

We need to protect the children . . . .
 

Scamp,

The Children are vunerable and need and deserve our protection. In the State of Washington if you are going to have the kids exposed to a child for more than 3 hrs at a stretch you have to have a police background check done by the State Police. About the only thing that isn't really impacted is Sunday School teachers but our denomination recommends everyone working with kids have a background check. As a volunteer chaplain for the hospital I had to have a background check done on me. Only those who have something to hide are afraid of background checks.

But it is such a shame that this has to be done. Really sad!

I had a plan to eliminate the problem but it fell on deaf ears. I just felt that any pedophile caught and convicted would receive an automatic death sentence by public hanging, to take place within two weeks after the trials end. Soda Pop and Popcorn would be provided by the state. But, no one went for it.

Keith

Keith, it's too bad people didn't accept your suggestion. But, even with our convoluted legal system, if these creeps are sent to prison their "buddies" won't have any use for them, either. Their time in stir will not be a walk in the park, but they'll get their justice in the end.

May each of them find a real close friend in the pen.