Which isn't entirely their fault, it must be said. They
show what their public wants to see, and they report what
their audiences want to hear. If we the public were less
bloodthirsty and prurient, the news would be much keener on
telling us about all the good stuff that is happening around
the world.
>
> I don't think there's any doubt that religious charities do good
> things. However, there are a couple of issues at play here: the first
> is that religious people are pretty good about reminding each other to
> perform charitable acts, and the second is that secular charities
> could use publicity too.
>
> Do you give charity because you're a Catholic? Or do you do these
> things because you're a decent human being?
ALl charities could use publicity, not least because most of
them are beggars who depend on public appeals for their
funding. That gives religious charities an automatic
headstart of established newsfeeds to captive audiences.
ALl other things being equal, though, it must be said that
religious giving outstrips secular donations by huge
margins. Whether this is due to a claimed moral
superiority, guilt (that'd be the Catholics :-) or the
exercise of a religious commandment doesn't change the fact
that certainly in America, the believing household will make
far larger sacrifices than the unbelieving household.
>
>
>>As to the "pretty sad" part about sex abuse, of course it's sad, on a
>>number of different levels. The saddest thing is that it's the first
>>thing out of many peoples' mouths when they hear the words "Catholic
>>Church" mentioned.
>
> Remember that part about news reporting? Well, priest sex abuse cases
> are big news, so you can't be shocked at the visceral response to it.
> Priests are supposed to be held to a higher standard, and it feels
> like every day, more nastiness is uncovered...
Some of that is of course down to perception bias. Because
these cases make huge media waves, the mistaken impression
is created that this is a huge problem in terms of numbers
and incidence. It's comparable to the serious mismatch
between public perception of crime -- "Politicians and
police, DO SOMETHING! We're being drowned in a wave of
violent crime!!!" -- and the actual figures which are
actually in long-term decline. For an even more dramatic
perception bias, consider the contrast between the general
view that the greatest threat to a child by predatory
paedophiles are dirty old men lurking at school gates or in
playgrounds hoping to snatch a kid when the actual reality
is that the vast majority of sexual abuse happens in the
family home, by close relatives. IOW, while we are all
obsessively scanning passers-by and other visitors to the
park, we are quite oblivious to the fact that Uncle Jeff is
diddling little Lucy in the comfort of our own home.
>
> The problem is that the RCC engaged in colossal cover-ups and payoffs
> for decades, so the scars are still fresh. Do you think Germans like
> being reminded of what their grandfathers did 70 years ago? They've
> worked exceptionally hard to rid themselves of the sins of the
> fathers, but the world has a long memory.
Aside from anything else, it's just too juicy and convenient
an insult to forget about. International football matches
without Nazi salutes and chants of "two world wars, one
world cup"? Inconceivable!
>
> The only thing to do is to continue to do good work, and to increase
> transparency.
Abve all transparency, because from that will inevitably
flow an increase in accountability.