Anti-Child Abuse Coloring Book Warns Chidren of Being Alone with Priests

Posted by Alex in Baby & Kids, Crime & Law, Pictures on December 4, 2007 at 3:46 am


The New York Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic church came up with a way to warn children against child abuse (and being alone with priests, perhaps):

At first glance, "Being Friends, Being Safe, Being Catholic" is what you’d expect from a Christian handout: lessons in loving thy neighbor and knowing we’re all special in God’s eyes, plus a fun word search with names of people whom kids can trust (parents, counselors, teachers). Many of the book’s cartoon-sketch drawings, which were created by a church volunteer, are light in tone and narrated by an angel looming overhead. But on one page, the angel warns of an online predator—with
chest hair exposed—who attempts to chat with a child; on another (shown above), the angel implies that children should make sure they’re never alone in a room with a priest.

Link - via Boing Boing, thanks Neal Ungerleider!



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COMMENT

9 comments to "Anti-Child Abuse Coloring Book Warns Chidren of Being Alone with Priests"

  1. Lasse
    December 4th, 2007 at 5:46 am

    An anti-child abuse coloring book?? Whats next? A LEGO set?

    So, to be on the safe side, every adult should be regarded as a potential child molester until the opposite has been proven? That´s rather paranoid, is’nt it?

  2. ted
    December 4th, 2007 at 8:17 am

    Totally (deliberately?) wrong interpretation.

    This is an example of an adult acting responsibly, since he is keeping the door open.

    Who says you can trust parents, counsellors, and teachers? Maybe it’s just the ones with no chest hair.

  3. DRukus
    December 4th, 2007 at 8:26 am

    Thats not cool at all. I’ve got chest hair and I’m a really nice, trustworthy guy.

  4. Justin
    December 4th, 2007 at 9:54 am

    I hate how our society has become one where men are seen as potential child molesters/sexual assaulters.

    I mean it’s always good for children to tell their parents where they are, but it shouldn’t be for the express reason of preventing sexual assault from creepy old men…

    Just another example of people freaking out over non issues. Somewhat similar to the poison in candies on Halloween. (only there are no evidence for this one)

  5. nick handert
    December 4th, 2007 at 10:49 am

    Perhaps the child should avoid the catholic church altogether… skip the indoctrination and the creepy priests in one shot. they may even learn to think.

  6. matt
    December 4th, 2007 at 10:59 am

    This could be regarded as sound advice for the priests as well. The picture shows the the priest smiling in the open doorway. This is because the angels are helping him avoid the temptation of Timmy’s hot young flesh.

  7. Woodwose
    December 4th, 2007 at 12:28 pm

    I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on in the picture. Is young Jimmy in bed, getting in or out of clothing?

    It mostly looks like adult-at-the-door is keeping watch to ensure that adult-concealed-under-the-sheet isn’t disturbed.

    So much for never be alone with one adult!

  8. Sid Morrison
    December 4th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

    ted interprets the pic correctly, but the very fact that it is a little vague/creepy looking makes it the butt of jokes… They meant well, but I think it should have been reviewed a bit internally before release.

    The Church has to go through a lot of pains to clean house and and restore the itself universally to orthodoxy (the Vatican hasn’t deviated from orthodoxy, but a lot of dioceses are run by bishops who do). While well-intended, the Vatican II conference of teh early 1960s paved the way for liberals to preach moral relativism within the Church and protect/make excuses for a small number of perverts and pederasts. In earlier years, the vast majority of these would have been rooted out while still in the seminaries. The excesses that followed Vatican II let them stay and even a small number were able to do tremendous damage when put in positions of trust.

    That said, I think a large fraction of the abuse cases are certainly bogus. Although some people were unquestionably wronged, the majority are scammers lining up at the cash drawer. The problem is that because individual bishops protected a few of the perverts, the whole Church lost credibility to the public (and juries). It’s going to take decades (at least) to recover, but I have confidence that no-nonsense orthodox leaders men like Benedict XVI will prevail.

  9. Kevin
    December 4th, 2007 at 3:36 pm

    Very well stated Sid…thanks


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