The Catholic Church has not exactly done a stellar job when it comes to preventing sexual abuse of children by priests, as the numerous and horrifying scandals of past years have demonstrated. Now the Archdiocese of New York is using a new method to show they won't tolerate pedophile priests--they are, um, sending out coloring books to kids. Excuse me? As Amy, our resident practicing Catholic said, "A coloring book? Instead of, oh, STOP ORDAINING PEDOPHILES?" Or transferring them to different churches when they get caught, or sending them to unproven treatment programs and then releasing them back to lead a new flock, or...yeah, I'm a little skeptical on this one.
But I was actually really surprised to see what the coloring books say: In addition to messages about how every one of us is special and we should be nice to others, the angel narrator warns kids, "For safety's sake, a child and an adult shouldn't be alone in a closed room together. If a child and an adult happen to be alone, someone should know where they are and the door should be open or have a big window in it." There's a picture of what could be a priest and an altar boy below. Oh my, well, that's direct. David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, says about the books, "We welcome any innovation, especially from an institution that has such a horrific track record."
Now that's an excellent strategy, and one I use in my own life--when you do a really, really crappy job at something, any effort, no matter how pathetic, looks great by contrast. But I just have to say, I know this isn't all the Church is doing to combat child abuse, but this education effort feels like it puts the onus on children to avoid being abused by someone they trust, when in fact the Church needs to do some serious work on its own clergy. I mean, how many kids are gonna make sure to check to make sure the door is open if they are in a room with a priest? Priests are authority figures and in positions of trust. It shouldn't be on kids to keep them in line. Maybe that angel narrator ought to be talking to the priests for a change.
