Roman Catholic Cultural Factors

The sexual behaviors religion deems moral, the levels of scientific understanding in sexual matters and what the media deems sexualy ideal all profoudly influence how a society view and behave with regards to sexuality. For example, if religion being a primary influence in a society deems sexualy activity to only be appropriate between a monogamous, married couple, and should only be talked about between those couples, then it’s likely individuals within that society will hold very conservative views on sex. Additionally, in a society with poor scientific understanding of human sexual behaviour and function, will be a perfect breeding ground for urban myths and misinformation, such as the idea that a woman’s hymen breaks when she loses her virginity. Conversely in a society where media is the primary influencer, of the society promotes and propagates objectifying views of women’s body, it’s more likely that the majority view of sex in that society is that it’s something that’s done by a man to a women, and that giving sex to a man is (or is one of several) a woman’s primary purpose.

This essay will examine the social and cultural conditions, within the macro-diachronic and micro-synchronic theoretical models , that intensify or perpetuate sexual assault. I have chosen only one concept from each model because these are the only concepts that I feel that I can use to most accurately and comprehensively depict causes and reasons for why sexual assault is deeply entrenched in our social structure. I will thus explore, from these ideological viewpoints, some of the motivations and circumstances which lead offenders to sexual assault. I will also fuse some of the historical attitudes from which today's concepts have evolved to our contemporary understanding of this social

The issue of opportunity is a major factor in the sex offenses in Churches. In churches, opportunities for abuse are in activities such as taking children home after an activity or youth group, giving individual attention to a child, and being alone with children in summer camps. These opportunities allow priests to be alone with children without other adults being suspicious or concerned. Another factor in explaining the opportunity for abuse is the power and influence that clergy have. Since in the church, priests or ministers are influential in defining what is right and wrong, they may have the power to show abusive behavior as normal. Children are in a position that church workers can use their authority within the church to persuade a child to comply with sexual acts (Farrell & Taylor 2000). When authority is misused in this way it adds trauma to the abuse. The betrayal of trust involved is enormous, and for some victims it causes the difficulty to trust authority again.

Furthermore, The Protestant Reformation saw a major European movement that challenged the religious practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. With the rise of religion attracting many individuals, intellectuals began to challenge religious teachings and expose the corruption of the Church. Rather than offering salvation, the Church became corrupt and stingy for control, power, and money, in which German theologian Martin Luther, highlighted. Luther argued that people only achieve salvation by God through faith alone and criticized the use of indulgences, wealth, corruption, and other religious practices within the Catholic Church in his 95 Theses. For example, one of Luther’s theses says, “Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.” Luther believed papal authorities utilized the people to their own advantage in gaining wealth by fostering beliefs that indulgences relinquished sins. The immorality surrounding the Church made it unfair to people of all social groups who “devoted an enormous amount of their time and income to religious causes and foundations” – only finding themselves fooled into bribery (A History of Western Society 402). Luther’s arguments served a pivotal role in influencing others to fight for their own beliefs and redefine the meaning of religion. The common good of the people and their opinions mattered as Protestant thought grew. In the “big picture” of European

The most important recurring issues in the study of the history of Christianity during our time period is sexual abuse amongst the Catholic Clergy and abortion, the killing of a living entity, as it is a sin against God according to biblical doctrine. Many believe that sexual abuse happening in the Catholic Church, is directly related to celibacy. The Churches restriction on priests that directs them to abstain from sexual relations. This issue has been debated since the reformation in which Martin Luther and other reformers opposed celibacy. They based their argument against celibacy on the bible scripture, namely Genesis 1:28, where God wanted people to “be fruitful and multiply”. There is nothing in the bible that directly mentions celibacy. There are many versions that mention fornication and uncleanliness and the interpretation of the Catholic Church seems to have made this deduction based on those scriptures. The other major issue that is common in most of the world’s religions is abortion; the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Protestant Church still adopt the early church’s belief to oppose the practice of abortion. Abortion is considered murder and a mortal sin in accordance which many versus in the bible as it relates to each of these faiths. Even between the Old Testament, where the law or Tora refers to the 10 commandments, where Exodus 20:13 states “Thou shall not Murder” and

High school plays a pivotal role in a student's life, helping to decide what type of person they want to become. The best high schools go one step further, giving students the skills and tools needed to move on to college and realize their passions and dreams. My personal Skutt Catholic experience fully prepared me for college and beyond with a top-notch education that gives every student the necessary resources to begin a life of empowering others, promoting justice, and initiating change. It has represented the "Legend of the Skyhawk" and formed me into the young man I am today through abundant opportunities in scholarship, friendship, and leadership.

From 2005-2014, the number of Catholics grew from 1.12 billion to 1.27 billion. The greatest increase wan in the African continent at 41 percent even though the population growth was at 23 percent. Asia has a 20 percent with an increase of population of 9 percent and then America which had an 11 percent increase in Catholics compared to a 9 percent of population.

The American system of government and society has been one aimed at the promotion of individualism and an overarching protection of values since its original establishment. In many ways, this was reflected in the aims of the original settlers who traveled from England to escape religious and political persecution. Upon establishing independence from Britain and creating a new nation, the founding fathers cemented this focus on individual freedom in their creation of the Constitution and, in particular, the accompanying Bill of Rights. The First Amendment in particular provides a strong protection of individual liberties by guaranteeing such core rights as freedom of speech, assembly, and press. However, perhaps the most significant—and most debated—element of the First Amendment is the clause that establishes separation of church and state.

The Roman Catholic Church was very influential during the Middle Ages. The church contained many religious aspects and cultures that develop this religion, which is currently practiced today. The Church was connected with the state, in order to sustain authority and power over the Roman Catholic Church. Due to the systems of medieval Europe, powers and roles of the Church affected the Roman Catholic Church, because it influenced Medieval Europe by religious freedoms and aspects, political powers, and the effect on the crusades.

In the articles they talked about the Vatican Synod and how it was not like any Vatican Synod before. In the Vatican Synod the bishops voted a ⅔ majority on how people who were divorced can marry again in the church. After, the article talked about how this votes might’ve been rigged for predetermined results. In the Vatican Synod, they also talked about a more merciful church for divorced people. For example, they had said that the church will provide spiritual help for those that were married then divorced and may soon be allowed to be welcomed back into the church. Also, there was a different setup than previous years in the Vatican Synod. For example, in years before the Synod was already planned out where all the changes and documents were already made. That’s not all that the Synod talked about, but we will discuss the other discussions and my opinions in this next paragraph.

The crime of clerical sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests has been publicly documented in many countries; such as, Canada, England, and the United States. One of the traits of any organized crime element is secrecy; secrecy allows them to be able to operate freely. Children are the most vulnerable individuals in our society. As a volunteer sexual abuse counselor, those who have been sexually assaulted by a clergy or anyone have experienced trauma; as well as, emotional and psychological pain. The impact of this crime often grows more painful as time passes. The assault is not only limited to the individuals, but also to those caught up in the euphemism; such as parents, and others who care for the victims.

This is important because priestly celibacy is very controversial. Chastity is living holy in the physical or sexual way. This will vary according to lifestyle and does not necessarily mean abstaining from sexual intercourse. The Church calls it’s faithful to lead a chaste life by experiencing sex within a sacramental marriage or by choosing to abstain while in an unmarried state. Deacons and married couples take vows of chastity as well as lay sisters and nuns. Celibacy is the state of abstaining from marriage which entails abstaining from sexual intercourse. This is the state of lifestyle or discipline for religious men and women, as well as those who simply live a single lifestyle. For some Roman Catholic priests, however, there are exceptions. For example, some Lutheran and Episcopal ministers who are married and have converted to Catholicism remain married. Deacons are not required to live this spiritual lifestyle. The religious take vows of celibacy when they are ordained or make their perpetual vows. Any sexual act, including the use of pornography, that violates one's vows or their lifestyle, is considered a sin against chastity or celibacy. Sexual abuse is such a sin. Not only is it a sin in itself, but it also entails other sins against chastity. These sins are lust, fornication, and rape and are in a violation of a priest’s vow of

This article’s main idea is to illustrate the characteristics of clergy sexual offenders, derived from a study conducted by the Saint Luke Institute. This article covers the pressures that have prevented the church from dealing with the problem more effectively. It is an academic source that has evidence of a research made about the topic that throws an important data needed for supporting my point of view in my research paper.

The early church has Christian based values that were good for Christians then, and they are still good for the Christians today. The early church dealt with all types of issues and opposition. And like ACTS 1:8 NIV says, we are to "be witnesses...to the ends of the earth". Our job is to be living testimonies of our trials and tribulations, and also try to live by the early church standards on handling disputes. There are 3 main influences that the early church left to influence the church of today. For me, the first influence is the leaders in the church must be ordained to do so (ACTS 1:2). Anyone just can't be put in a place of leadership, and start preaching. Being ordained usually means they are speaking God's words inspired by the Holy

Sexual offenses have happened for a long as people have been around. According to Derek Logue, sex crimes can be dated as far back as 1880 AD and even further back to the days of the bible (2012). Depending of the nature and severity of the crime committed there were many ways the offender could be punished (Logue, 2012). Logue stated that on page 12 of a book written by Philip Jenkins, it was found that the Middle Ages were to some extent an influence on sexual crimes (2012). In the days of the bible the offenders who chose to commit sexual crimes where seen simply as sinners that had turned away from God. They were seen as unholy or unclean and sexual immoral. Sexual crimes weren’t really that widely recognized until the 1800’s (Logue, 12, para 7). When it finally became a more public matter females victims were the most talked about. Even to this day, Jack the Ripper is one of the most well-known acts of sexual violence ever committed. In 2012, Logue mentioned that this is one of the cases that was brought to the public’s attention that led to this becoming a more well know crime in the media. People started to become more aware of these crimes and became “fascinated” will serial killers and sexual offenders. As a result of this stereotypes about sexual offenders where created (Logue, 2012). There are many people who believe that these sexual crimes are a direct violation to our